


For S's and G's

by Reaxeon



Series: Pixie Pranks [2]
Category: Undertale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 08:26:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 32,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7927744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reaxeon/pseuds/Reaxeon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pyx has only a few weeks until she's graduated and completely done with college. The rest of her life continues on an average day, waiting in the cafeteria for one skeleton. What will life after college bring her? What friends will she make, what secrets will she uncover?</p><p>What pranks will she pull?</p><p>Only time will tell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So! This is in fact the sequel to Love and Prank Wars, and will be very sporatic in updates because I want to get my other series up and going again properly. So this will be slow to update, but I will be doing it. This is continuing on directly fom the end of Love and Prank Wars and will do a tiny bit of time skipping until we get into the nitty gritty of Pyx moving into a new home and making her way into the real world outside of College. 
> 
> Expect to see a lot of new and familiar faces in the next chapters, but for now this is just the beginning for a while.

You munch thoughtfully on a banana muffin as you wait for the skeleton to catch up to you. It was only a matter of time until he woke up, honestly. Liam had had a short whispered discussion with you about the merits of kicking Sans out to the curb but you had explained your thoughts on it and he had eventually backed down.

You didn't blame him really. He was just looking out for you after all. Papyrus was already at work, you had walked him and explained the fact that you were going to talk to Sans today and he had not had much to say on the matter other than he was very glad that something was going to happen. He didn't say as much but the last few weeks had been unbelievably stressful for him. Sans was the only family he had and seeing him in such a state had not done much for him. 

Seeing you in such a stressed and sickly state had also pushed him to the edge of his seemingly unending peppiness and he was more than happy to express to you just how happy he was that you were feeling better. 

Free smoothies were always great too. 

Regardless, you continues to sit there near the bay window, folding over and over again the wrapper of the now gone muffin. Crumbs were brushed aside as you hummed softly under your breath. 

Surprised would be an understatement to what you had felt last night, opening the door to find Sans leaning there. A part of you was overjoyed, another worried, another annoyed. This was not exactly how you had planned approaching him but, life was to be lived now and you weren't going to shun him after deciding on your own terms you were going to try and mend the friendship between you two. 

You were jolted out of your musing as a loud clack sounded in the chair across from you. 

“Sans!” You say, jumping in your seat a bit at the abruptness of his arrival.

“Pyx...” He says, trailing off when you smile at him. 

“Okay. I want to just. Get this all off of my chest at once so I talk, then any questions can come after, kay? Kay.” You take in a deep breath and look at your folded up wrapper for a moment before starting. “Sans, I really like you. I like you more than a friend but what you said really hurt me. And I don't care why you said it, the fact of the matter is that you did say it. I'm willing to forgive you and move past this, but I don't trust you as much as I did. I still like you but even if you wanted to, I wouldn't try and date you. Not right now. I'd really love to be friends again though. … I miss you.” 

He watches you fidget and sighs softly in relief. “Pyx, im more than happy to be your friend if youll have me. no amount of sayin sorry is gunna change what happened but i hope i can make it up to you.”

“We'll see.” You say cheekily, grinning from behind your almost empty smoothie. “You'll have to work your non-existent butt off to make it up to me.”

“aw come on pixie, do I gotta get on my hands and knees here to beg forgiveness?” He says just as playfully. 

The air between you relaxes as you shake your head and chuckle. 

“Now wouldn't that be a sight? No, I won't make you grovel, but I might make you run a bit. I want you to start coming to train with Pap and I and actually participate. I think it would be good for all of us. And that way you can prove to me you're serious about doing whatever it takes to make it up to me.” 

He freezes for a moment before shrugging and smiling widely. Too widely, if you knew him at all to be accurate in reading him.

You narrow your eyes at his easy demeanor. 

“deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man. A lot has happened, but well. Today was the first time I've had proper time to sit and write so I hope yall enjoy. No promises on regular posting but I am going to make an attempt at the very least.

You hadn't really thought he would agree to that so easily. No attempts to weasel out of it, no complaining, no joke. Just. Almost immediate agreeance. 

Something about that put you on edge but you were also trying to really stick to your guns about living life and not holding back so. Gift horses and all. After all, you were a astro-scientist, not a dentist. Pushing that train of thought from your head you went through the motions of class and getting the schedule from your professors on the final weeks of your classes. It was only a little over a month away now, the end of the year and you had finally come to a decision. 

You were going to graduate. 

You may as well. Liam had finally gotten all of his business classes out of the way and was going to graduate and make his way into the real world. You weren't doing anything except mooching off of the lab that was at college, and you had enough money to probably set up house well...in your own home at this point. You had plenty of job offers to pick from that would supplement you if you needed it, but currently the money from your dad was enough to leave you in relative comfort for the rest of your days, not to mention you planned on selling the house as soon as you figured out the logistics of it. 

No, money wasn't much of a concern of yours anymore. College had already payed you to be there, to use your name to get more grants. You weren't in debt. Liam wasn't in debt if he just took your offer, either. He argued that you should at least make it a legal loan, and you had signed the papers, but you weren't about to try and inflict interest on him. He would just have to deal with the fact it was a present from you. 

Your life laid ahead of you and all you had to do was reach out and grasp it. And that was exactly what you planned to do. You had already gone and talked to your advisers, to the head of the science department. Already signed all the papers, paid for the cap and gown, all you had to do was wait at this point. The classes you were in were essentially electives at this point, you could do the finals in your sleep. You were carefree as one could be when faced the fact that you had to make your life happen now.

You couldn't just passively let it pass you by. You couldn't just let it shoot over your head and roll off your back. You had to take the initiative. 

First things first, all of your things that weren't essential to day to day live had been packed up and sent to your house. You had already contacted a Realtor and were talking over how to set up the house for open viewing. The costs of selling it, getting it checked out. Really you just threw enough cash at him until he agreed to take care of it all and leave you alone. 

You glanced up at Liam as he sat at his desk, dark bags under his eyes as he studied his textbooks. 

“Liam, are you sure-” You start.

“Yes Pyx. I am certain. I was certain when I offered it, I have been certain for the last three times you have asked me if I was certain, and I am certain now.” He said, never taking his eyes off of his papers. 

“Because I don't want to be a bother, really-” You try to say.

“Pyx. I am studying. I need to pass to graduate. Yes. For the last time you are welcome to stay at my home for a while until you find a place. My mom has already given it the green light, we have an empty bedroom now that Erica has moved in with her fiancee. You are fine. Please, just go out. Visit Papyrus. Talk a walk to the park. Go to the lab. Do something other than ask me the same question four times in a row while I try to pass. My. Class. Please.” He ranted, losing his patience with you for the first time in a while. 

Gulping you nodded and shouldered your backpack as you headed out the door.

“And Pyx?” He called after you.

You turned to look at him curiously.

“Try to relax okay? I know you're anxious but that's normal. I'm here for you girl.” He said with a tired grin.

“Aw you huge nerd. I love ya you know that? Like a brother I never ever wanted.” You say, rushing over to smother him in a hug before jogging off down the hall.

“That's something you have in common with all my sisters then.” He said as you raced off.

Texting Sans as you made your way to the fusion cafe, you let him know that today would be the first day of training together as long as he was out of class. Checking the time, you nodded in satisfaction as you confirmed that it would only be about ten minutes until Papyrus was off of his shift, and he didn't have any classes today so it was a perfect time to jog to the park. 

Working out with Papyrus for almost the entire semester had really helped you get a bit more fit. You weren't muscular by any stretch of the imagination. Not in the arms at the very least. Your legs, they were working on becoming more shapely but that was about it. Mostly you were excited about the fact that your stamina for running was better. 

Before you could hardly jog for more than ten minutes without feeling like death itself was chasing you. Now you could run at a steady pace all the way to the park without breaking too awful of a sweat.

You were proud of yourself in a way that was a bit hard to place. Sort of like when you went to the closest supermarket and bought yourself a proper wallet and purse when your favorite video game themed wallet had gotten too many holes in it to be useful anymore. When you made sure to get a good pair of sun glasses that were more function than fashion as well as a set of driving gloves for when the winter months rolled around. 

You supposed that it was a feeling of not being a child anymore, but you didn't feel like you were a full adult like your dad used to be to you when you were younger. You didn't know if you ever would, sci-fi movies and fun being too big a part of your life to see fit to abandon in pursuit of more adult like pass times. Like cross words or knitting. 

Well knitting actually could be really cool, as long as you aren't doing the same thing repeatedly. Like those people who knit dwarf beards and helms for winter hats. 

Regardless, you were proud of yourself for taking care of your body for once. You had always been just a bit past the chubby side. You never really thought too deeply on it. You ate whatever you wanted and obviously until recent events, drank whatever you wanted. Your working out before Papyrus consisted of walking to wherever you needed to be and then promptly taking a ten to twenty minute break sitting on your ass while you caught your breath. 

You pondered the likelihood of you becoming a gym rat before laughing at yourself and shaking your head. That wasn't going to happen. For one thing you enjoyed food too much to start hyperanalyzing everything that passed your lips for anything that could be considered a diet. Two, you enjoyed the running, but beyond the working out with Papyrus, you couldn't really see yourself pumping the iron to bulk up. It just didn't appeal to you. Running had a certain sort of meditative quality to it that you appreciated after your brain got too clogged up with science. 

Even though you loved science, sometimes you overwhelmed yourself with the endless possibilities that laid before you and honestly, it felt nice to not think sometimes.

“FRIEND! ARE YOU PREPARED FOR OUR TRAINING SESSION?” Papyrus cried as soon as you came into his view. 

His apron was already off and his scarf waved in the windless area, which you consistently chalked up to some kind of inherent magic. You didn't even say anything, you just dropped into a stance and grinned at him. 

“OH HO HO! YOU WISH TO CHALLENGE ME TO A RACE ONCE MORE! WELL THEN, READY. SET. GO!” He shouted as you both took off.

You ran as far as your legs would take you, but Papyrus's legs were much longer than yours could ever hope to be, and he didn't have lungs to worry about. That didn't stop you from trying to beat him every time. The wind rushed past you, and your hair caught in your mouth but you didn't give it a seconds though as you pumped your arms and leaned into the run as much as possible. 

You were only five feet or so behind him when you finally got to the park bench you always met at, laughing breathlessly as you collapsed onto the ground and rolled onto your back. 

A shadow was cast over you as Papyrus peered down at you, joy alight in his eye sockets. 

“PYX! YOU WERE EVEN CLOSER THAN LAST TIME. IT IS AMAZING TO SEE YOUR IMPROVMENT!” He said, offering you a hand so you could pop up from the ground.

It never ceased to amaze you how strong he was, what without having any muscles or structural physicality behind it. Magic.

You went to check your phone to see when Sans would be showing up only to feel a whisper near your ear. 

“cha doin?” 

With a startled yelp you threw your phone up in the air and whirled around, hands at the ready to slap the attacker. You stopped when you realized it was Sans, and your phone decided to come down from its short flight to conk you on the head. 

“Ooow. Sans what the hell?” You demanded, rubbing your head where you felt the smallest of all welts forming. 

He just shrugged and grinned at you. “you told me ta be here didn't ya?” 

Narrowing your eyes at him you shook your head and looked towards Papyrus. “So what do you want to work on today Pap?” 

“WELL I WAS THINKING THAT IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO DO MORE CONFRONTATION WORK AND SEE IF YOU FELT UP TO PUSHING ATTACKS.” Papyrus said after a moment of looking at Sans thoughtfully.

“What? But Pap, the most I could do is try to punch you and I don't know how comfortable I'd be doing that.” You protested. 

Papyrus shook his head. 

“I SAW SOMETHING THE LAST TIME WE TRAINED THAT MADE ME CURIOUS. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT MY WELLBEING PYX, I'M MUCH STRONGER THAN I SEEM. I JUST WANT TO PUSH SOME OF YOUR LIMITS AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS, IF YOU ARE WILLING THAT IS.” He explained. 

Frowning slightly you huffed a sigh and nodded. 

“Alright, let's try this I guess.” You said.

Dropping into a solid stance, your soul popped into view, looking the same as the last time, that bronze gold color, but yet...No there was one small difference. The crack in the center of it seemed deeper. Like someone had stuck their hands in and tried to pry it apart, and the inside of it was so dark you felt like it was endless. 

It made you shiver. It didn't look like just a crack anymore, it looked almost like some sort of hidey-hole for a creepy-crawly. Something about it just set you on edge, but Papyrus didn't seem to think much on it at all, instead immediately throwing himself into his attacks, which you dodged once you finally forced yourself to stop staring at your soul.

It was a half hour into training when whatever Papyrus was looking for seemed to crop up again. You had no idea, you had been too focused on jumping out of the way of a rather lengthy attack when you heard Papyrus shout a wordless noise, as if he had found something. Looking up, you had caught sight of Sans with a forced smile frozen on his face, and Papyrus dancing in his spot with excitement. 

“What?” You asked as the grey faded to color and your soul returned to his home in your chest.

“PYX DID YOU NOT EVEN REALIZE?” Papyrus asked, coming closer.

“Realize what?” You asked, feeling left out. 

“ya did magic.” Sans said, suddenly appearing next to you. 

“No way.” You said.

“YES, WAY!” Papyrus said, picking you up and twirling you in a circle. “IT WAS SMALL BUT I FELT IT AND IT WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT MAGIC! YELLOW!” 

You felt a little lightheaded from being swung around and held so tightly to Papyrus's chest but you just laughed until he set you back down. 

“What did I even do?” You asked as soon as you were on solid ground again. 

“looked like ya created small barriers ta catch th' hits that ya couldn't dodge fast enough.” Sans supplied as Papyrus tapped away on his phone muttering excitedly to himself.

“But I didn't actively try to do anything?” You said, confused at all that was happening.

“YES BUT CHILD MONSTERS OFTEN START THAT WAY! IT'S A INSTINCTUAL REACTION TO PLAY FIGHTING AND BECAUSE YOU ARE HUMAN IT'S LIKE YOU ARE A CHILD IN TERMS OF MAGIC USE! OH ALPHYS IS GOING TO BE SO EXCITED.” Papyrus said, looking up from his phone for a moment. 

“Why do I feel like this is going to be a way bigger deal than it feels like at the moment?” You asked Sans.

“probably because it kinda is. you're one a' th' first yellow souled humans ta show magical abilities. at least one a' th' first that is goin' ta be documented, if Pap is textin' Alphys.” He said with a frown. 

You matched his frown. 

“Why do I get a bad feeling about this?” You asked.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see if being sick for four or so days in a row means I'll finish this arch lol
> 
> Can any of you guess who is likely to make an appearance soon? 
> 
> :)

Nothing really came about from discovering your ability to tap into the instinctual. Sans, Papyrus and yourself all ate together at the park and discussed the fact that with finals cropping up and college ending for most of you that anything Alphys might have wanted to do with you should wait until after you had graduated so as to not interfere with your affairs. 

You had kept quite as Sans did most of the defending against Papyrus's well meaning excitement. 

You had already planned on meeting Undyne and Alphys and many of their other friends during the summer as it was, so it wasn't like anything was majorly different. Now, as far as you could tell from Papyrus's and Sans' discussion was that Alphys might want to do some small noninvasive tests and documentation of your abilities. 

You could respect that, yet at the same time you weren't sure how willing you were to be a test subject, or at least that's how it felt to you, even if it was just basic observation. There was a reason why you had gone into astro-science. No worry about experiments based on living organisms. Just lots of theories and laws and math and puzzle solving. The idea of even testing Mini's by sticking a lab rat in it made your skin crawl in a way that had your stomach clenching. 

But you trusted Papyrus. He wasn't about your lead you to some cage and leave you at the hands of someone nefarious. So you kept your worries to yourself and instead focused on cleaning up the mess of sandwhich bags and napkins the three of you had made before getting up and stretching out your legs. 

“Well I'm ready to head back, do you guys wanna walk back with me or...?” You asked, trailing off.

“I WOULD LOVE TO ACCOMPANY YOU BACK PYX.” Papyrus said as he popped up to his feet and took the garbage from you, jogging over to the trash can to get rid of it.

You looked to Sans with a raised brow, silently asking him. 

“sure, its a nice day out.” He said with a shrug as he smiled at you easily. 

“You know, you got off easy today. You didn't even have to take part of training!” You said, offering him a hand to help him up. 

He got to his feet and just grinned wider. 

“don't worry 'bout it pixie. ill pull more weight next time.” He said sticking his hands in his hoodie pockets as Papyrus caught up with the both of you and you all headed back to campus. 

“So what does yellow mean again? Magic wise.” You asked as you strolled, trying to remember.

You knew that green was healing and blue was gravity, and you had a grasp of the concept of orange even if you didn't see it used too awful much, but you hadn't really memorized all the others. 

“YELLOW IS JUSTICE!” Papyrus replied.

“for the most part yellow magic has ta do wit' concentrated magic. it's malleable in a way, 'nd real versitle. ya could use it as a type a projectile. or like a shield like ya did earlier. it's hard to explain until alp checks it out a bit more because a how varied yellow magic can be.” Sans elaborated. 

“Oh.” Is all you could think to say. 

The three of you walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way back to your dorms. Papyrus was the first to branch off and head towards his own dorm, which was two down from Sans' and yours. With another lifted hug he was gone, nyeh-ing as he went as he typed away at his phone, likely still filling Undyne and Alphys in on your magic. 

So it was just you, and Sans. Your body buzzed with a somewhat nervous energy as you walked next to him, the comfortable silence from before feeling heavier and heavier until you finally broke. 

“What was with your face earlier.” You blurted out.

“w-what?” He sputtered, looking at you with that same forced smile from before.

You stopped in your tracks and pointed at him. 

“That! That face right there, you look like you just stepped in a puddle with socks but no shoes. What is that look for? You did it earlier when Papyrus finally triggered my magic.” You said, narrowing your eyes at him.

He began to sweat. 

“uh.” He said, “well...”

You felt the slightest shift in the air and something in the back of your head and deep in your chest recognized it before it happened, and your hand darted out and grabbed his just as he disappeared. 

The smallest flash of white and blue, a rumbling in your core that shook you, and then blackness. Heavy smothering blackness that pressed down on you, like a blanket cocooning you. You wanted to scream, your mouth hangings wide open but no sound came out, it was like being under water and you could feel the darkness flooding in, and then it was gone. 

Brightness hit your eyes and you tumbled on the floor of a familiar room, the scent of linen and lemon filling your nose as you coughed, specks of blackness hitting the rug before fizzling out of existence. You could feel the heaviness coating your throat, and flinched when you felt a rough hand turn your face around. 

“Pyx. Can you hear me?” He asked, and something about his tone made you shiver. 

You couldn't speak, your throat felt caught, so you nodded instead. 

“Pyx, I need you to focus. Can you speak.” He asked, a frown stretched too thin on his face.

You tried again, but nothing came out, not even a squeak or croak. You shook your head, tears filling your eyes as you started to panic. Your hands reached up to grasp at your throat and you wrenched your head from his grasp to cough onto the floor once more, more of the blackness coming up from your throat and disappearing as soon as it appeared. 

“This isn't good at all. Try to stay calm I'll get a hold of Papyrus.”

You could hear movement, but your eyes were screwed shut as you hacked as hard as possible to dislodge the strange gloopy feeling in your throat. Yet as you gasped for air, you felt it slide the rest of the way down as you swallowed. Something felt wrong, in your chest, but you didn't voice anything as you caught your breath. 

“What...What the fuck was that Sans?” You finally managed to spit out. 

You looked up, and found yourself nose to nasal cavity with him as he knelt near you with a concerned look on his face. 

“'m not going to be able to convince you to drop that am i?” He asked quietly as he bodily picked you up from the floor.

You let out a soft yelp and clung to him for fear of being dropped, but he didn't seem to be thrown off at all by your movement, only taking a moment to bring you over to his bed and set you down. 

'Um, no! No, you aren't! What the hell was that Sans, what was all that darkness is this how you always just show up out of nowhere?” You asked rapid fire before something clicked in your head and you pointed at him accusingly. “You can teleport!” 

That caused him to smile the smallest bit. 

“ya caught me.” He said. 

“How? Have you always been able to do that? Is it something anyone with the same magical powers as you can do? Does it have something to do with your ability to manipulate gravity?” You asked, brain racing at the sheer idea of figuring out how it all worked. 

Something at the back of your mind caught a hold of the entire idea and held onto it but before you could really think it through Papyrus burst through the door, and your mind went blank from the surprise. 

“PYX! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” He asked as he darted to your side, hands already glowing in a soft white shimmer with green and orange highlights as he looked at you helplessly. “SANS WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING?”

“just lay your hands on her neck and do the same thing ya'd do if someone was chokin'.” Sans said, his voice falling back into the tone you were familiar with. 

Looking at his closer, you noticed that he looked exhausted. More so than was usual for him. You weren't able to examine him much further, as Papyrus loomed over you and started to get to work. You could feel the remaining stickiness condense into a ball in your throat and you wanted nothing more than to cough but fought to just remain calm as Papyrus coaxed it up and out of your mouth. 

It was not a feeling you ever wanted to feel again. 

The rather large glob of darkness didn't dissipate as soon as it left your mouth this time, instead staying trapped in the bubble of magic Papyrus held it in. He turned to his brother, and frowned. 

“SANS WHAT IS THIS?” He asked, as he held it out to his brother. 

Sans just wrapped it in his own blue magic and looked at it, the lights in his eye sockets gone. 

“nothin' good Paps.” He murmured. 

Something in your chest ached, and you clutched the front of your shirt as you stared at the ball of darkness floating above Sans' hands. Something wasn't right and you started to struggle to breath properly, your vision going fuzzy as the world spun before a different sort of darkness took over your senses. 

You were already out so you didn't hear the panicked voices of the skeleton brothers as they scrambled to your side as you slumped down unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have this and to all my american readers, have a fun and safe fourth of july yall.
> 
> I'm moving into my new apartment with my friends offically on the 5th and 6th of this month, so I'm going to have a full month of time between this job and the next where I'm just chilling. So expect a lot of updates to most of my stories and I might even be able to finish this fic by the end of the month??? Maybe??? Summer is super productive for me so we'll see what happens. Hope everyone is having a good summer!

You felt like your were floating. Calmly just above the water of a soothing lagoon. It was cool, but comfortable, like a dip in the pool on a hot summer day and you felt at ease even as you slipped under the surface. You didn't struggle, just continued to breath as normal and found that the darkness that gently held you didn't surge forward to drown you. 

You opened your eyes, and saw that there was something bright in the darkness with you, a soft glow of purple that caught your attention. You didn't have to even move your limbs, it wasn't the same as swimming. You just intended to move towards it and your body did, slowly making your way through the darkness. 

Something about this felt like home. Like your dorm, a home away from your true home, a stepping stone to better things but still where you were, for the time being. Safe. Familiar. But not yours, not truly.

The glow slowly solidified into a familiar figure. Dark and sharp yet oozing. Pixels and slime, a scarecrow like grin too wide for it's face and yet it was there. You tried to focus harder on its face, and from the static and darkness you could make out its eyes, and a large dark crack. The sound of typing and clicking filled your ears as you got closer, until it reached out a tendril. 

You didn't know why, but you reached out your own hand and grasped it, only for your entire body to go rigid and your mind to clear, making room. 

“Y̸̧͉̓̂o̵̲̽͋ǘ̵̞̊ ̶͕̃͜a̸̖͝r̵̯̘͂ḛ̸͕́ ̸̺̓a̸̺̰̾ ̵̡̹̈́c̵̱̿u̶̹̮͆͠ṙ̷̝́i̸̐̇ͅo̸̙͘ü̵̯̈s̶̘̜̍͠ ̵͚̒̉h̶͙̔u̴̠̻͌̑m̴̰̫͊a̴̯̲̓ņ̷̐̉ͅ.̴̭̌ ̶̨̈́͜Ḯ̷̞͈̚ ̸̗̉̋ċ̷͍͜a̵̛̫̍n̵̞̳̉͝ ̷̲̐s̷̯̈́ͅe̷͓̔e̴͎͈̔ ̴͙̔w̶̗̬̚h̶̠̤̊a̶͎̎t̸̝̓̍ ̷̪̋m̷͙͌ͅy̷̳̾ͅ ̷͈̰̔s̵̡̧̕ö̶̢́n̸̘̹ș̴͜ ̷̢̦̄s̶̺͋e̸͚̜̋e̸̦̞͊ ̸̯̈̓i̵̥̮̒n̸̪̚ ̸̡̾y̶̧͋͛o̴̖̓u̴͎̍̓.̸̙͑͛ ̸̫̣͛Ḇ̵͉̚r̶̝̈̏ͅi̴̝͒͝ģ̴̱̓̑ḫ̷̨̈́͒t̶͇̘̒.̵͙̯̔͝ ̸̲̈́L̷̦͙̇͐î̵̼͚k̸̮̦̂̈́e̷̱͂ ̷͇̪̈́̎m̴̪͗̚y̷̯̽ ̴̻̽̉ͅh̶̙̖̽̎u̷̗̮͗s̵̆̒͜b̵͚̦̓a̶̢̫͛͊n̶̬̽d̵̦̫̓̎.” The voice was garbled and sounded similar to a corrupted audio file, too loud in some parts and too soft in others.

Wait, sons? Sans? Papyrus? You didn't know anything about their parents, but this was one of them here? 

“Ẅ̶̳̍h̴̻̤́̈́ő̴̝̹̍ ̴̲̞̈́I̷̞͌̓ ̸̺͒̈w̴͕̩͆a̷̝͎͂s̷͕͌͝ ̵̩́ẖ̵̊̈́ä̶͖͕́ș̷̬̉͝ ̷̺̍͆b̸̡͐ē̷͚ë̸͕́̔ṋ̵̟̉ ̴̹͑͗ḷ̶͗o̸̭̾͑s̶̩͂t̸̬̘͆ ̷͎̌t̷̥͌o̸̧̿̚ ̷͓̪̓͌t̴̛͔h̷̨̃̋e̷̝͐ ̶̘̍V̵̡͋ǫ̸͚̾i̴̜̘̅͑d̶̹̫̎.” It said without sadness, but a soft sort of resignation. “B̵͓̈u̷̦̽͝ţ̸̡̍ ̷̱̇ỵ̶̊͘o̵͓̚ũ̵̼̪̊ ̶̧̂͂a̵̡̎ṟ̶͓̾̓ȇ̷͈ ̷̭̍̅c̵̡͎̿̍o̷̮͖͗̍ṙ̵̝̘r̶͍̠̓ȩ̴̣̇c̶̮͗̓t̷̹̂͝ ̷̲͙͗ȉ̴̞͎n̷̡̎ ̵͖̽͐ỳ̶̱̖ơ̶̤͚͝ų̵̌̓r̸̰͌ ̶̨̃ä̸͉̩́̒s̸͉̄́͜s̶̝͗ṵ̴̣̅m̸̻̽p̵̙͐ͅt̸̡̤̃ȉ̵͖̟o̸̗̍̂͜n̵̡̟͂̒.̸̭̤̐ ̶̟̈I̸̲̖͒ ̷̙̠͌̈́w̸̦̞͛a̷̳̯̍s̴̟̟͝ ̵͙̫̀t̴̗͋̚h̶̀͆͜ȅ̸͖̹̽ ̴̙̆͑f̷̙͓̃͊a̵̪̠̿͛ṯ̶̦̊h̶̜̑ê̵͚̗̊ȑ̵̢̝͛ ̸̹̻̒o̸͇̅f̵̠̭͠ ̷̙̜̐̈́t̸͈̄ḧ̴̻́o̸̫͒͑͜s̴͈͗ȇ̷̤ ̶͙̲̔y̵̖͛o̵͍̭̊̆ű̸̳ ̸̮̞̊̿k̶̹̀̑n̸̯͒̐o̴͖̾w̷̯̰̃̃ ̸̤̻̾̄ă̷ͅș̷̭̆͛ ̶͓͇̊S̷̤̦͐a̴̝̝̓̇ṇ̶̤̒̈́s̷̮͔̿̿ ̷̜͈̚a̴̡̾ñ̵͉̮d̸̨͉̓ ̸̺̊͘P̶̤̌͌å̶̙p̵̲̔y̶͓͗͌r̸͔̆u̷͉͕̅ŝ̸̘.̴̪̭͒ ̷̲͘T̷͔̈́̔h̸̔͘ͅo̴͈͠u̴̼̾g̶̺̔h̶̻̤̉̚ ̶̠̈́t̴͉͉̽͘h̷͍͗è̵̛̱̼y̴̟̅͌ ̶͈̑̂ḍ̷͋o̵̲̽ ̷͎̅ṅ̷͔o̸̲̙̅͘t̶̻̄ ̵̗͓̋̓r̴̰͌̕ë̸̘̜́̈́m̵̺̮̏ẽ̴̻̐m̵̤͐̔b̷̡̻̌͘ě̶͕̞r̴͉̭̾͐ ̸͖͇͊m̵͚̱̑e̵͇̫̐,̶̬ ̸̥̗̉͑n̷̢̈́ö̴͙́ţ̶̡̔ ̵̢̛̮̓p̸̞̿̄r̴̼̜̊ǫ̴͛́p̴̻̭̈́ȩ̶͚͊͂ṙ̸͈l̸̟̆̋y̵͖̹͛.”

You could feel your emotions responding. As if to say that wasn't fair. 

The chuckle echoed in your head again. 

“M̵̟͗͝ą̸͛n̶̡̊͛y̶͙͇͋ ̵͔̼̐͋t̴̨̟̿͝h̶͎̐i̷̪̦͠n̶̺͝g̴̯̽s̸̢̏̚ ̷͕̄å̷̤̐r̵͍̒̏ȅ̷͙ ̷̫̍ṋ̶͊o̶͖͂̀t̵͖͌ ̷̗͈̌f̷̞͇̓͘a̵͚̩̓̅i̵͕̤̓r̵̳̋ ̶̰̆̃i̵̠̎͋ñ̵̥ ̵͕̔̿t̵̰̬͛h̶̟̲̉i̴̺̠͠ŝ̷̙̈ ̸͚̦͒w̶̡͓̆ỏ̴͙r̴͚̍̕l̸̙̟͋̏d̷̺̅,̸̳̈ ̸͖̥̔͝d̵̞̎e̴̖͝a̴̱̫͠r̶̥̄͝ ̶̝̽c̶͍̱̓h̸̬̳̏̾ì̷͉̱̆l̷͖͛d̵̗̩̎̌.” The voice said.

No. You didn't care if the world wasn't fair, that was something you had been told so many times. Every time someone did it caused your entire body to feel on fire, from how angry you were at the idea that you were expected to just accept awful things because that was how the world worked. 

That was how the world worked only because people continued to let it be. Because change scared them and they weren't willing to fight. 

“I̴̥̪͠ ̵̜͆͜c̴͚̘͋a̷̢͓͠n̴̯͊̅ ̸̢̇͒ț̸͕͌͛e̶̖͝l̷̪͕̑l̸̥̿͝ ̵̭̗̓w̵̯̃͆h̷̎̆ͅa̵̖̔t̵͚͝͠ ̴̢̄ȳ̸͔̟͛o̸̲̜͐͛u̷̢̚͝ ̶̛̼̯a̶͉̳̓͌ṛ̷̅̈́ḛ̶͈͌ ̸͔͚͂̾t̶̠̿h̷͙͠ī̶̥̺ṇ̸͇̚k̸̡̃î̴̥̣ǹ̵̖͇͑g̷̨̩̅ ̶̲͙͑c̶̜͂h̶̠͙̾i̵̼̓l̸̺̝͆d̷̰͂͝,̸͉̋ ̵̪͌̋b̸̪̈́ǔ̷͔̈́ẗ̵͍̺́͠ ̸̟̎͘d̴͉̞̎̍o̶̝͑ ̷̧͚̄̅n̴̩͒̉o̵̟͓̿ť̷͈̰̚ ̸̥̭̑̅w̴̱̰̽̋o̴̘͂r̴̅͜r̸͖̅y̸͔̏ ̶̼̝͆f̴̱͗̔ȍ̴̫̓ṛ̶̏ͅ ̷̰̊͒ṃ̴̽ȩ̶̯͆̚.̵̪̈́͜ ̸̺͝W̴̱̖̽̈́ǒ̵̹r̷̺̾̒r̷̞͌̎ẙ̷̝͙ ̴̤̩̾ṁ̶̨̳͐o̴̥̊̕ṙ̵̪͍̿e̷̼̒ ̶̙̑̇a̶̼̺͒͝b̸̗̪̿ỏ̵̼̺u̷̗͐̔t̶̨͂̂ ̷̬͆̀ÿ̴̦̀ö̸̡̖̂ư̵̜̾r̵̭̅s̸̨̘̚e̸͙̰̔̒ļ̵͊̏ͅf̷̖͑̎ ̴̹̚ả̶̤̈́n̵̘̉d̷̼̿ ̸͈͙͊ẖ̴̓ö̵̫̫w̶͇̣̚ ̶̖͆ẗ̷͇́͐o̸̹̲̔͂ ̴͉̋s̵̤͇̈́̎e̴̬͋p̶̣̬̆a̵͓͜͝r̸̠͔͗͋a̸̟̼͝t̴͔͗e̷͉̱̾ ̸̝̣̚ȳ̸͚͛o̸̘̙͗u̵̡͚̽̓ṟ̵̖̈́s̶̨͊͜e̴̼͊̕l̷̠͛͑f̵̳̼̂ ̷̗̮̎f̵̮̼̈̐r̶̟̽̔ô̵̗m̵̫̥͊̂ ̶̫̎t̵̗͑h̴͕͒ẽ̴͖̎ ̷̟͙̅V̸̢͙͊͂o̷̮̻̽̀i̵̧͕͐d̴̢̟̍.̷̭̍ ̵̩͑I̶̺̦͂ ̷̹̘̔͆a̸͇̬m̵͙̺̍ ̸̦͙̉p̵̻̃a̵̯r̷̗͕̈̔t̵͈̬̉̐ ̴̮͑o̴̧̝̽f̷͇̱͐̈́ ̷̝͐̀ṱ̸͋͋ḩ̴̜͌ĩ̶̙s̷̤͆͗ ̶̛̱̞̿n̷̦͆̚o̵̥̓͜w̵͙͙̿,̴͙͓͑ ̷͍̋b̸̩͖̊̄u̵̼͉͌̇ṱ̷̨̍͘ ̴͖̦̑y̷̭̾ó̸̗̥u̴͍ ̵̪̔ĥ̶̭̜̌a̶̼̯̅̊v̸̢̗̊͝e̵͔̟͗̉ ̸̛̟̮̒a̶̢̫͆ ̵̗̓c̷̗͔͊̕h̴̛̝͈͑ā̴̭n̶̩̽c̸̳͙̈́e̶͔͛̚ ̵̣̥̈̋t̴͖̐̚ó̸̝̎ ̴̼̅e̵͇̚s̷͍͂͑c̴̲̿a̸͖͘͠p̷̝͖͠e̸̪͔̔͝ ̸̬̙̀̌t̴̬̜͆h̴̰̏e̸̝͠ ̴̡͌ş̴̼̆a̵̛̫͍m̶̜̽ḙ̶͝ ̷̘͐̑f̸̻̋a̴̬̾t̶̡̯̓͗ě̴̤̭̚.̵͎͇̉” The voice said seriously. 

You shook your head and held onto the tendril tighter, wanting to pull the figure closer even as your body shook from the effort. The comforting blackness was suddenly thicker, fighting you as you tried to move. 

“Let me...help you...” You forced through the darkness, muffled and almost swallowed by the Void around you. 

“Č̸̲̙ĥ̷͇̂i̸̲̚l̷͙̲̑̏d̶̝͐̚ͅ,̵͕̰̔ ̷̨̜̽d̵̫̥̐͆o̴̼̺͘n̶̯͍͝'̴͚̲͆t̴̯̅̓ ̷͍̄̌s̴̨̺̾ț̸͂r̵̂̐ͅã̷̪̩i̵͔͋̿n̴̥̯͗ ̸̬̲̀ý̵̘̝̎ơ̷̪ṵ̴̭̈́r̴͍̦̽͝s̵̥͚͛̆ẹ̷̈́l̷͍̥͒f̵̯̖̎̚!̶͎͒̇ ̴̧̕L̶̩͗e̶̝͆â̵̱ṽ̵̬̱̋e̸͚͊ ̵̖̚m̵̲̂ė̸̬ ̴͑ͅț̷̢̃õ̸̗ ̴̖͊̃t̸̤h̷̬̊i̴̯̙͑̆ś̶̨̼̍ ̶͍͙͝p̸̤̖̉̅l̵̡̄͂â̷̪̤c̵͕̮̅̀e̶͙̙̾̀ ̵͍̜̀̀a̷͚͝n̷̻̓d̴̺̊̾ ̶̧̣́͆f̵̧̆ǫ̵̍c̷̡͝ǔ̵͎͖s̷̤̉̔ ̸̮̱́o̷̭̎n̴͚͂͠ ̷̨̮̚͘y̵̝͌͗o̷̰̎̀ũ̸̹͙̇r̴͚͛ ̵͓͈̂o̶̰͗w̴̞͑͝n̷̥̻͗ ̸̞̦͌̈́ṣ̵̒ṵ̵͝r̴̨̲̽v̶̛̩͌i̷̯͂̐v̷̘̓̑a̸͕͂̌l̴̼̓.” The voice sounded almost panicked at your efforts.

Despite only knowing a little about this being, who they used to be, your soul beat against your chest heavily, as if begging to help them. You felt a burning anger rise up in you that you weren't entirely sure was yours. Anger at being forgotten, left behind, erased, a need for Justice to be served called to you and you accepted it without a moments hesitation, even as the figure tried to retract their tendril from your grasp.

A blinding flash of yellow light and a feeling of static shot up your arm from where you were still holding onto to the tendril, it was like your entire body fell asleep at once and your entire being was vibrating. 

“Y̶o̵u̷ ̵h̴a̶v̸e̷ ̵n̸o̶ ̷i̷d̶e̸a̷ ̷w̵h̶a̵t̷ ̴y̷o̸u̷'̶v̸e̸ ̶d̷o̸n̵e̴.̵.̶.̷L̶e̸t̵ ̸u̸s̸ ̵h̶o̸p̵e̴ ̴y̶o̷u̶ ̷d̴o̵ ̵n̴o̶t̵ ̶r̶e̶g̷r̷e̸t̸ ̴t̴h̸i̵s̶.” The voice said quietly.

Your mind slowed as the darkness pressed down on you harder and harder. Your last thought, was that you hoped the boys weren't worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “You are a curious human. I can see what my sons see in you. Bright. Like my husband.”
> 
> “Who I was has been lost to the Void.” 
> 
> “But you are correct in your assumption. I was the father of those you know as Sans and Papyrus. Though they do not remember me, not properly.”
> 
> “Many things are not fair in this world, dear child.”
> 
> “I can tell what you are thinking child, but do not worry for me. Worry more about yourself and how to separate yourself from the Void. I am part of this now, but you have a chance to escape the same fate.” 
> 
> “Child, don't strain yourself! Leave me to this place and focus on your own survival.” 
> 
> “You have no idea what you've done...Let us hope you do not regret this.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this story is so serious rn but I promise it wont stay this heavy the whole time. It's actually going to get a lot more pranky soon. 
> 
> What else would Pyx do when stressed than a rash of horrible horrible pranks to give her some semblence of control over her crazy life? 
> 
> :)

Waking up, your mind was strangely blank. At least for the first few groggy moments after you came to. You were confused as to where you were, and yelped when Papyrus started sobbing next to you. 

“NYO HO HO! PYX I WAS SO WORRIED!” He blubbered at top volume. 

You couldn't do much more other than try to recenter yourself and sit up. Your chest felt heavy, but when you tried to think about it your mind cleared and switched topics rapidly to the fact that you had passed out. 

“What happened?” You croaked. 

Looking around you saw that you were in Sans' room. He wasn't anywhere to be seen, but you were in his bed, half covered by one of his many blue hoodies. You stuck your arms through and zipped it up without much thought as you fully sat up and rubbed a hand over your chest. 

“I AM NOT ENTIRELY SURE. SANS BROUGHT YOUR SOUL OUT AFTER YOU PASSED OUT, SAYING HE NEEDED TO CHECK SOMETHING AND WHEN HE DID IT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF GROWING A NEW LAYER!” He explained as he wiped his tears away. “THEN HE SAID HE NEEDED TO CHECK SOMETHING ELSE AND LEFT ABRUPTLY. I STAYED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE NOT ALONE WHEN YOU WOKE.” 

Something felt off.

Wrong. 

It ached.

You smiled weakly at Papyrus and opened your arms for a hug. 

“Well I feel okay, so don't worry Pap.” You lied, trying to reassure him.

Something about him crying made you want to just comfort him. He wasn't a person that was meant to look so despondent. 

He flung himself forward and hugged you, surprisingly gentle as he did so. 

“I'M NOT SURE IF MY SOUL CAN TAKE ALL THIS WORRISOMENESS!” He wailed. 

You rubbed his back and tried to stay calm. 

“Pap I not sure that's even a real word.” You said. 

“WELL IT SHOULD BE FOR THIS SITUATION!” He said. 

Your ears popping made you twist your head around out of instinct. The heaviness on the edge of the bed was what really tipped you off to Sans' return. 

“pyx.” He said simply, but his voice conveyed so much more.

His smile was genuine, relieved. His eyes were bright and fuzzy, and his face had a sort of strangely rubbed raw sort of texture look to it, as if he had been crying. Papyrus let go of you softly, and you immediately reached out. 

“Sans.” You said, voice cracking. 

You tried to be strong for Papyrus, but seeing Sans made something in your soul cry out and twist inside and you couldn't help from flinging yourself into his arms and holding on as if he would keep you from drifting away.

“shhh. its okay. i've got ya. i promise.” He murmured softly as you buried yourself in his chest. 

“What is going on, why does my soul hurt?” You asked, muffled slightly by his shirt. 

You felt his hands gingerly run up and down your spine and his chest rise and fall as he sighed. 

“i don't know, but im goin' to find out.” He said. “Pap, you should probably let Liam know what's goin' on so he doesn't worry when Pyx doesn't show up in their room soon. i've got things covered here for now.

You looked up at Papyrus, who was hovering nearby, hands wringing continuously as he looked at Sans. 

“IF YOU ARE SURE BROTHER. I WILL BE BACK LATER, WITH SPAGHETTI! PYX, YOU ARE SURE TO NEED PROPER NUROIUSMENT TO RECOVER FROM ALL OF THIS!” Papyrus said as he stood tall once more, purposeful as he strode towards the doorway before pausing. “YOU BETTER TAKE GOOD CARE OF HER SANS!” 

And then he was bounding away, the door half slamming behind him. 

You felt the smallest smile form on your face from the antics of it all and let out a shaky breath before looking up at Sans, waiting for him to say...anything.

You could feel his hesitation before he sighed again. 

“the darkness ya saw was the Void. its where i pass through when i use my magic ta teleport. it's not really a safe place for monsters, let alone humans.” He explained. “as for ya soul hurtin? thats something I can't really answer unless I ah...examine it.” 

Despite the pain in your chest and the confusion you felt in general with the entire scenario you found yourself in, you felt your cheeks burn brightly as your hold body heated up from the implications of that. 

“Uh.” Was all you could manage to say, struck speechless at the sheer idea. 

His cheekbones were tinged slightly blue as he glanced away from you, even as his arms tightened slightly around you. 

“it wouldn't be like...that. i meant i'd have ta check it like a doctor would...scientifically.” He muttered.

You thought about it seriously as you laid your head back down on his chest. He leaned back and let his back hit the wall, and softly started to pet your back again, waiting for you to think it through. You knew he wouldn't force you to do anything you didn't want to. You trusted him that much at the least. 

“Okay.” You said softly, sitting up and looking at him.

“okay?” He asked softly, sitting up as well so he could turn fully towards you. 

“Yeah. I trust you not to be weird about it at least. Something is wrong and we need to know what and we won't be able to do that without looking at least.” You reasoned mostly to yourself.

He nodded and you saw his face shift into something akin to the professional and detached look you could remember every dentist or doctor you visited as a child have. 

It looked wrong, the smile frozen like it was. 

“first i'm gunna need ya to get in a comfortable but steady position. brace your back on the wall if you need to, but sit up so your chest is facin' me.” He instructed.

“Now?” You asked, slightly panicked. 

“the sooner we take a look the better off you'll be. so... yes.“ He said as he stood up and turned to face you. “just try to relax an' whatever happens, if ya feel faint at all. tell me.”

You nodded as you got yourself braced against the wall, crossing your legs to fit sideways on the skinny college bed. 

“what im 'bout to do is gunna feel different from when Pap pulls your soul into a confrontation. it's going to feel...intimate.” He explained as he leaned on the bed , hands reaching out towards you. “It's going to feel exposin' in a way and it's make your emotions feel a lot more on the surface. are ya ready?”

“Y-yeah. I'm ready.” You said. 

He made a motion as his finger bones lit up with blue, and you gasped sharply.

You were not ready.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man just never listen to me about when i hope to update. Everytime I try to make a proper schedule that is regular life throws something at me. Like a 700 dollar car repair bill. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter and despite what I just said, I start work in about a three days. Which means a schedule I cannot ignore and I will be able to either before I go to work or after I come home from work dedicate exactly three hours a day to my artistic and writing projects. Which means I HOPE to have a REGULAR update schedule to tell you guys,
> 
> heres to hoping life doesnt kick me in the pants.....Again.

You felt like you were naked suddenly, on a level that was so much deeper than just skin. Your emotions whirled as if trying to find a focus and you couldn't help but stare at Sans as he worked, his phalanges barely just missing your soul as he turned it side to side with his blue magic, eyes so bright it almost hurt you to look at them. You felt a surge of warm feelings flood your body as you stared longer, taking in how he looked. 

The world had went grey, and that was something you had been expecting. What you hadn't expected was how Sans' body would glow with a soft shimmering blue, reminiscent of the northern lights. What you hadn't expected was how strongly your emotions started to crash over you. You felt trust, and something else you refused to acknowledge even now as your soul sang with it loudly, as if trying to make sure Sans knew exactly how you felt. But then the fear, the frustration at not knowing what was happening to you came barreling through, the tears fell freely as your whole body hiccuped from the strength of it. 

You struggled to stay still instead of curl in on yourself and just try and make everything stop. You had to distract your racing mind with something else other than your feelings so you focused on your senses instead. You forced yourself to stare not at Sans but your soul instead.

The brightness of it surprised you, initially. The old bronzed looking shell that you had only just gotten used to was gone, hidden as it were. The new layer was too bright, almost white in color. It was like Papyrus's soul looked to you when you sparred, only the very core of it was a yellow so pure and bright it was like staring at the sun for too long. If you squinted and looked at it regardless of the dull ache in your eyes, you could spot the smallest heart shaped speck of purple at it's center. 

You stared at the speck so hard that you felt dizzy, before a echo of a voice forgotten came and the memory of your visit to the Void during your sleep hit you all at once. 

“I̴̎͜ ̶̼̬͛w̵̨̓͝ȏ̴̹͇n̶̛͕̟d̶̗̅ȅ̷͉̕r̷̗̾e̵̩͚̿d̶̖̓ ̸̦͋͛h̴̆̓͜o̸̢̎w̷͖̝͂͑ ̵̩̟͗̏l̵͍̂̒ǫ̶̜̔̍ń̶̯̹g̴̱̪̍ ̴̙̪̾̐ǐ̷͎t̸̰͒ ̸͎̞̐w̵̙̯͛o̷͈̱͋u̸̪͛̏l̷̘̉d̷̬̆̽ ̸̹̠̍̇b̴̖̌e̴̘̲̊̈́ ̵̘̝̉̄b̵̼͐̕e̶̟̓f̷̫͘o̶̹̕r̸̛̥͍͋e̷͙͙͌ ̸̞͎͗̇ý̷͓o̶͉̍̐ṳ̶͌ ̷̞̓r̴̪̐ͅẽ̸̢̺̽m̸͎̗͘e̴̬̻̋m̶̫̞͋͝b̵̟̔̀ë̵̥́r̷͇̝̈͑ȩ̸͇̾̀d̶̝̖͑.̴͍͠ ̶̞͓̐Ḯ̸̜͋ ̷̩̤͛a̵̲̪͂̈ṁ̸͈̻̚ ̶̲͉ǐ̸̩̳͗m̵̹͖̎̌p̴̙̉̑r̵̠̳͗͛e̴̢̓s̸͚͔̒s̷̛̤̺͆e̷̺̽d̵̛͉͓̊.̵̙̈́ ̸͖̌” 

Sans' whole body jerked as your soul flew from his hands and hung between you two, the small speck of purple looking to almost pulsate as the words came straight from it. 

“Ï̷̟̽ ̴̜̃ä̸͉m̴̳͜͝ ̸̢̙̋͘ú̵̟̞͒n̵̫̰͝s̷͜͝͝ủ̴̺ŕ̵̗̚e̷̬̕ ̶̠̈́͛ȏ̴̢̚f̵͎́ ̷̝͙͋̾h̷̝́̏o̵̳̊͜w̵̧̓̚ ̵̖̈́y̷̗͊o̵̲͛̽͜ư̷̫̞͘ ̷̧̞̎̃m̶̹̃ā̸͎͚̾n̷͈͂â̸̫̜g̵̣̐e̷̛̗͝d̸̦̤̐ ̵̛̤̈t̴͇͐o̷̲̐̊ ̶̓̐ͅd̷̻̎͝o̷͕̦͌ ̸̙͕̔ĭ̸̯t̴̪̓,̷̗̎̂ ̸̪̳͋͗b̴̖͍̕u̵̥̣̐t̷͔̖̉̀ ̷̺̾̕͜y̷̹̣̕͠o̴̪u̴͈̐ ̵̱̞̐h̵̞̒͠a̶̺͂̓v̶̤͚̀̾e̴̤͊̇ ̵̲͌̓d̴̪̔͂r̸̨̯͗a̶̻̝̓g̴̘̱̒͌g̶͓͈͘e̴͈̪̊d̶͙̐ ̶̨̭̅͐a̴̠̺̕ ̵͔̄̇p̷͖͉̎̆i̷̤͛̍é̴̲̎c̶͕̓̎ẹ̸̜͒ ̸͔̎͂o̷̓͜f̸̭́̃ ̴̫͕̑m̵̦̜̓͒ẽ̸̖̰ ̶̹̠̏́ẇ̵̮i̸͕̾̾ţ̶̭̓ḫ̶̝͗ ̵͍̃y̵̱̤̾o̸͇͋ṷ̷͗͜͝,̶̡̲̑ ̸̜̯̅o̷̗͚̅̈́u̴̖͆̀ẗ̸̹̭́́ ̴̦̊ǫ̷̳͋͘f̶̻͆ ̵̛̹͗ţ̸̻͘h̵͕̖̿̾e̴͙͖̍͐ ̷̀̋͜V̷̘̑ŏ̷̡͔i̶̥̕ḏ̶̽̑.̵̬̜̌ ̵̹͝”The voice said, and you barely had the presence of mind to notice how shocked Sans looked.

“I remember it! Why did I forget in the first place? I remember wanting to help you. I wasn't expecting to take a piece of you with me in my soul! How is that supposed to help anyone?” You said, panicking as you held your soul in your hands gently. 

“T̶̰̺̊o̶͇͛ ̵͙̰͆b̷̢͇͌e̸͓̐͝ ̴͈̱h̵̠̜͛ǒ̸̤̚ņ̷̆̕ȩ̴̮͊s̴͙͔̎t̷̢̤̑̀,̸̛̪̤̈́ ̶͎̫̓Ī̴̤̾͜ ̷̡̰̃ǎ̶̳̒m̸̦͎̓̒ ̴̟̫͛u̶̼̕n̴̲̳͝s̷͙̬͆ū̶̧̯͐r̵͍͈̈́ĕ̸̺̐.̸̡̮͂͝ ̶̗̳̈́N̷̻̖̈́ô̷͎̇ţ̷͋h̴̨͇͒i̶̺̭̊n̵͔͙̒ǵ̵̡̞ ̷̬̄̓l̷̤̩͑ḭ̸̯̊k̸̝̰͠ë̶̪̞̍ ̸̣̼̀̊ţ̶̖̒͝h̵̤̃i̵̼̕s̴̲͈̽́ ̷̲͠ḥ̶̯̌̿a̶̙s̵̥̀͌ ̶̨͍̀̚ę̴͑v̵̬̳̇ẻ̴̖̟r̶̹̋ ̵̥͎̋h̷̯̚ã̷̼̹͋p̷̝̬̅p̶͓̾e̴̹̰͗n̶͚̂͒e̸̛̞̩d̷̚͜ ̶̅͜b̷̹̏ḛ̴̅̿f̸̿͌͜ͅo̸̩̮̔̒ř̴̙̕e̵͍̥͛,̴͖͂͜ ̸̥̈́͒w̸̫̘͋̕ė̷̻̖ ̸͓̼̄a̷̻̒̿r̷̢̛͂ḙ̷̮̉̇ ̴͔̻͂̿ĭ̶̪n̵̡̙͊̐ ̴͇̺͐â̶̗̚ ̸̨͔̅̓ų̶̈n̷̗̿̂i̸̢̙͌͘q̷̝͐u̷͔̎͝e̷̫̼͝ ̷̥͓̊͗s̴̠̈́̓i̵̢͌ţ̸̡̀̾u̶̲̓̿ȃ̴̘̇t̵̞͉̓̈́ȉ̶̪ȏ̸̘͚ń̶̥̂.̵̻͐ “He admitted.

“a unique situation that shouldn't be happenin'.” Sans growled, making you flinch slightly from the vehemence in his voice. 

“Sans?” You asked before you gasped and froze. 

He had swung your soul out of your hands and you felt the panic build and hit you harder as you reached out uselessly for your soul. You could only cringe and half fold in on yourself as you felt an immense pressure build in your body, as if your solar plexus was a black hole wanting to swallow the rest of you whole, it hurt. 

Then as suddenly as it had came upon it stopped and you looked up at Sans in confusion at his shocked and pained face. 

“Get out of her soul.” He growled, hatred building in his eyes as he stared at the speck. 

“Ḯ̸͇ ̷̻̀a̵͓m̴̱͓̈́̎ ̵͔́a̷̞͒f̴̧̫̒͒r̴̛ͅâ̷̯̿i̵̙̦͂d̴̞̉̉ ̷͇̓I̷̙̿ ̸̳̎d̶̤̰͐͝o̶̖̎̈́n̷̡̛'̷͔̓ť̴͓͒ ̷͚̔k̷͙͙̒n̵͉̓̈ŏ̶̭w̷̜̚ ̶̫̓h̴̢̰͘o̸͕̽̆w̸̨̥̍̒ ̸̼͉̆t̷̜̠̿̈́o̸̬̓͠ ̵̹̠̽d̵́͜o̶͙̭͠ ̶̗̜̐͂t̸̹̓̈́ͅḥ̶̲̾͂a̶̫͌ț̷̈́̎͜ ̶̞̌S̴̛͔̹a̷̜̳͗ň̵̥̤s̵̘͕̆.̴͈̦͂͠”

“Gaster-” Sans started to snarl.

“Sans.” You say weakly, reaching out for your soul. “Please, it hurts.” 

And it did. The after effect of whatever he had tried to do to your soul just now was still sending strange throbbing sensations that made you feel sick even as it prickled at your skin. 

One glance at you had him dropping your soul as if it had burnt him and it flew straight into your chest, sinking in. Color returned to your senses once more but the ache only dulled slightly. You felt like you had done a full body workout, the tightness of your muscles making you want to cry. 

“I̶̹͓͌ ̷̘͔́́a̷̡̽̈́m̷̪̈́͝ ̷̜̃͗m̴̛͍̦̌ȁ̵̫͖k̷̺͆i̸̘͌͆n̴̩̘̆g̶͖͆̇ ̶̧̔͂a̶͈̿ṋ̴̨͆ ̵̡̒e̸͉͑d̷̳̩͛͝ů̶̺c̴̢̛̣̓ạ̷͆̔t̵̜͚͂ȅ̷̞̝͝d̴̰̻̅̔ ̸̤͚͋ģ̸̹̌̏u̴͕͕̽e̸̜̋̾ŝ̷͎̬s̵͔̒̅,̵͍͠ͅ ̵̧̥̈t̵̳̓͌ḧ̸͔̦́̏a̷͚͠t̸͈̍̑ ̷̫̉S̴̡̓a̴͈̩̅̅n̴̢͙̈́͘s̸̼̠͒ ̵͙͍̔̓c̴̨̓a̷͈̙̎̒n̸͈̫͠n̸͇̐o̴̫̩̐̕t̷̮̓̏ ̴͝ͅh̸͈̼͂e̴̞͆̃a̵̘̓r̴̯͖̂ ̵̙̘̍m̵̫͘e̴̪̾̔ ̶̳͗w̶̙͘ḣ̶̘̣̕e̵͉̾n̷͙̘͒̀ ̶̝͘I̶̖̋̂ ̵̪̍s̸̩͙̈́p̴͈̺̆̎e̸̹͚͆̎ḁ̷̜̊ḳ̶̳͒ ̴̱͎͝ű̷̻̂n̴̗̠͐̿l̸͎̏ė̸̥̜̋s̴̰̉s̶͇͚̑̅ ̷̺͝ȳ̷̗̟o̶̹̲̅ǘ̴͔̲r̶̘̳̒̚ ̷̣̈́s̵͖͂̇o̶̡̤͒̔u̵̲͙͐l̸̨̛̆͜ ̷̺͠ì̷̮s̵͇̓̅ ̵̢̢̓̾ȏ̷̘͜ù̷͚̭ṯ̴̑̊.̷̛̺̲͂” Gaster said.

Judging from Sans' lack of a response to that you were willing to guess that his assumption was correct. You ruefully wondered if people would find you talking to yourself if that was the case because it wasn't likely you would be able to ignore Gaster now that you remembered him. 

“I̵͎̘̒ ̵̖̏d̵̛̘̗̅ö̴̰ ̶̭͉̌̅n̴͖͍͝o̵̰t̶̖͈͘ ̸̰̘̓ḅ̶̺͐ě̷̯͜ľ̵͕i̷͓͝ẽ̶͇̙v̶̲̼̓̿e̶̦̝̚̚ ̶̢͕͛i̵͙̲̿t̴̹̽͘ ̸̛̬͉w̶̪̹͑i̶͈͊l̸̘̄l̵̨̝̈ ̷̛͚b̷̩͕̓e̸̞̝͆̍ ̵̝͆n̵͍̝͂é̶̢̈́c̵̭̙̄e̴̜͝s̷̥͍̈́̐s̶̭͛a̵͍̒r̴̳͇̃y̴͇̑ ̸͓̬͝t̴͕̜͝ȯ̸̧͍̿ ̷̯̑s̴̟̋͊p̴̢̌̒ë̵̗͝ā̵̗k̴̼̣̅̎ ̴̛̪̖̚o̷̤̍ų̸̢̛t̵͉̂ͅ ̸̖͋̓l̵̨͍͐̓ȯ̶̫͝ų̸̰̈́̈d̴̺͊ ̶͔̉̋i̴̛̬͘f̷͚͈̾ ̵͖̾ͅÿ̵͇o̶̩͋̚u̴͙̪͆͝ ̸̢̚w̴͈̱͘i̴͙͌ͅs̸͇̈́h̸̻̄͝ ̵̮̥̄̑t̵͈̕ó̵̪̗͝ ̶̮͆͘c̴̫̮͆̌ơ̸̙m̷̹̈̾m̷̼͂u̵̮̥͘n̶̨̛̟̏i̷̡̅͝č̸̜̤̌a̸̤̩͂t̷̜̆͜e̷͕͖̿ ̸̥̈w̴͓̕i̸̻̳̋ṯ̶̜̊͘h̷͓̰͐ ̶͉͎͛m̶̥̓͊e̸̲͝.̶͕̳̈̓ ̴̻̯̒Y̴̱̊͠ö̴̺́u̷̝̾ͅr̶̨͋ ̶͔̈́̚s̴̬̞̏ổ̴͔ͅu̸͖̱̽̓l̷̢̔ ̴͙̐̈́a̸̦͑n̴͖͖̽̉d̸̢̮́̈́ ̸͖̃̉m̴̛̭i̸̼͉̿ǹ̶͕͗d̶͚̭́ ̷͓̆̈́s̸̼̤̚p̵̳͗e̶͓͐a̴͔̲̚k̶̙͊͆ ̸͐̀͜t̷̢͔͘o̷̡͖͆ ̸̲̜͂ṃ̷͙͌e̶͇̾͊ ̶̗͐͝q̵̦̾͝ṷ̶̌ǐ̶͕̋t̸̜͐e̵͚̋̔ ̷̦̚ć̶͙͚̏l̷̛̝̗͌e̸͔͐a̸̬͝r̸̗̃̀ͅl̴̳̅y̵̗͑͛ ̵̹͚̔f̶̜r̸̬̯̅o̷̰̓͜͝m̴̨̘̊ ̴̼̩̑h̶̩̜͘e̴̢̺̅ȓ̶͕̍e̷͇͊.̶̫̅̐ ̸͉̰̏” Gaster said with a slight amusement coloring his tone. 

You frowned, realizing that you weren't going to like the fact that he heard all your thoughts as if you were speaking. It was a level of privacy invasion that sat heavily on your gut, but you would come to grips with it later when you had more time to process everything that was happening to you. 

Sans had been pacing the entire time you mentally debated with yourself, racking his thoughts in an attempt to come up with a solution to this problem. Because it was a distinct problem. 

Suddenly a thought hit you, and for a startling moment you realized you couldn't tell if it was yours or Gasters. But it was distracting and you blurted it out before you could stop yourself. 

“Sans how did you remember who Gaster is?” You asked. 

He stopped dead in process of wearing a tread in the floor and sighed. 

“Because I'm the reason he's forgotten in the first place.” He said as he turned towards you. “I am why he fell into his own creation.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ex.Po.Sition
> 
>  
> 
> i dunno im telling yall what happened wa more than showing but honestly. this is me just screwing around. next chapter will have actual happenings and activity and events, instead of two pages worth of talking.,

The silence in your own head was oddly deafening in that moment. You could feel a deep seated sorrow, but it wasn't yours and because of that you felt like you were detached, just watching a horrible accident occur without knowing who the victim was. 

“What does that mean?” You asked softly. “Please Sans I want to understand, I want to help if I can.”

His hands rubbed against his eyes, scraping noises the only thing you heard for a time. 

“its a long story. but seein' as he's attached that means yer part of it whether i want you ta be or not.” He said, looking at you over the tips of his phalanges. 

You wanted to scoff at him almost, amused that he thought Gaster being present or not would have stopped you from getting an answer out of him eventually. Instead you leaned forward and caught his hand in yours, gently pulling him towards you. 

“So tell me. I'm not going anywhere.” You said. 

A half broken chuckle makes it's way out of Sans and you smiled encouragingly. 

“ya say that...gaster is my father, you know this. my other father is grillby, remember the fired up bar tender?” He asked. 

“Oh yeah! Wait. Why didn't you say earlier that he was your dad? Were you adopted, seeing as you had two dads?” You asked, confused as to why that would not be mentioned earlier.

Why were you even bothering to ask that right now all things considered it was low on the level of things to be wondering about. But your brain got caught on the image of the bar tender, of his smile and the way he carried himself and suddenly you were almost drowned in a wave of emotions. 

A deep sadness spread in your soul and clenched in a way that made you think of homesickness and the devastation you felt when you found out about your father, but it was still almost detached, like you were reading a book or watching a video and feeling empathy and sympathy more than actually experiencing it. Subconsciously you rubbed at your chest with your free hand. 

“that's 'cuz grillby doesn't remember pap or i, at least not as his actual kids. monsters can have kids wit' each other regardless a whatever gender humans perceive them to be, the only thing necessary is a soul bond an' the want to have a kid. gaster an' grillby were a well known couple many years ago, before the accident happened.” Sans explained plainly.

Gaster was silent but you could almost sense how forced it felt in your head.

“What accident?” You asked.

A shiver of remembered pain like nothing you had ever imagined shook your spine straight, but you forced yourself to not show it.

“im getting' there...in the underground there's this machine called the Core. it powers everythin' needed down there, lights, fridges, everythin'. gaster was the royal scientist that created it and he was workin' on a second prototype of it, make it stronger. maybe even strong enough to break the barrier keepin' us all down there. i was a teenager at the time, old enough to help but he didn't want me doin' anythin' too dangerous, ya know? Pap was only a baby bones, and grillby was working the pub so that we had food and a warm place whenever gaster was gone, which was often.” Sans paused, staring off out the window of his room. 

Reaching out with your other hand, you scooted forward until you were on the edge of the bed and pull him closer, just to hold him as he tried to choke out the words caught in his throat. 

“so really it was just the three of us most a the time but gaster would sometimes call me in to help him with the core prototype. mostly movin' stuff around with my magic, which was easier than doin' it manually...he was puttin' too much power through the prototype and it wasn't handlin' the overload well, it was set to blow an' with how strong it was, it woulda wiped out the whole new home section of the underground and half of waterfall on top a that.” He took in a deep shuddering breath.

“Did he not realize how powerful it was?” You asked, but at the back your head you already knew the answer as soon as the words left your mouth.

A regret that ran through your soul say it all. 

“he didn't care how dangerous it was becomin' he didn't care that it was one wrong move and we'd all be dust...the longer he worked on it the less he was my dad and the more he was this scientist bent on finishin' the task no matter what the consequences of it. the prototype finally gave out under all the power pumped into it and was at the verge of explodin' and he finally seemed to come to his senses, because his own hands started to dust wherever he touched the damned thing.” Sans said, leaning against you as he mumbled out the story, loosing the steam of anger he had started with.

Now he just looked tired...so very tired. Reaching up you hesitated for a moment before you started to stroke the back of his skull with one hand. Rubbing small circles like you could remember your dad doing to you when you would cry all over him. Hoping that it would have the same sort of calming effect on Sans even if he didn't have hair for you to card your fingers through.

You could feel a tenseness slowly leak out of his frame as he started to talk once more. 

“so gaster told me, to push the prototype into the Void as deep as i could when he opened up a rift. what he failed to tell me is that the Void needed something with a soul to anchor the magic properly...he ended up being that anchor that my magic attached to, to pull the prototype into the Void before the whole thing exploded, and he made me push him as deep into the Void as possible, never to see him again.” 

He was crying, thick globs of tears running down his face as he clenched his hands into fists. 

“the bastard got to be a short lived martyr, while everyone in the underground other than me forgot he ever existed, forgot anything that came from him. the Core remained, but no one remembered me or paps at all. Grillby knew us, but forgot how he did. i ended up havin' ta give up an' lie ta my own father about who we were because every single time i tried ta remind him of gaster it was like it all wiped his memory blank an' we were back to square one. i raised pap all on my own. my own father doesn't know we're his sons, but at least he still tried his hardest to help us, out of what he thinks is just the goodness of his own soul. 

His shoulders shook violently as he rubbed away the tears, hardly keeping it together. You had nothing to say as a deep sadness washed over your Soul, two fold, both yours and Gaster's threatening to drown out any other feeling. You just held onto Sans harder and rocked softly, shhhing and murmuring meaningless words to try and calm him down. You had lost your dad, and many times you felt it was your fault, but Sans...Sans thought that too, but it wasn't. 

He wasn't the one at fault here, and you thought that vehemently, almost as if you were trying to build a wall between Gaster and yourself. You had taken a distinct side in this particular situation, and the strength of your feelings pressed down so hard the secondary sadness disappeared entirely and you were left to your own thoughts and feelings alone suddenly. Like a switch being flicked. 

“You didn't do anything wrong...” You murmured to him. 

He only shook harder, held onto you harder as the light slowly leeched from the room and night fell over you both like a heavy blanket.

“I'm not going anywhere.” You said, even as your eyes started to droop. 

“...thank you.” He whispered. 

Gaster said nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so a little bit more doing than saying, but still a lot of saying. what can ya do? ppl talk in real life have some more of it lol
> 
> also more liam time next chapter lol

You were the one to wake up first. At some point during the night you both had fallen to the side and snuggled up to each other, a tangle of flesh and bone limbs and a blanket that was haphazardly thrown into the mix. Despite the burn in your face, you stayed calm. You just looked at Sans, asleep and relaxed so much more than you had ever seen him be before. 

After watching him for a time you tried to take stock of just how tangled the two of you were. Somehow you had a hand snaked up his shirt, and when you flexed your fingers, realized that you had grabbed a hold of his ribs and gotten your fingers stuck between two of them. When you had squeezed, he had made a soft low noise and you froze, before relaxing once his breathing resumed as normal. 

One of his arms was thrown over your side, trapping the hand that was up his shirt to your side and you realized you weren't going to be able to pull your hand out without having to move him, and something told you that would be a quick way to wake him up. 

Your other hand was up under the pillow the two of you were sharing, but at least it wasn't numb, you thought as you wiggled your fingers. One of your legs was shoved up between Sans' legs and wasn't going to be wormed out from the knot the two of you had become either without moving Sans significantly. You were stuck, for what it was worth. 

When you lifted your head to try and look around the room for any indication of what time it was, you realized that his other hand was holding your cheek. You weren't sure how you didn't notice that earlier, but you didn't think too hard on it. 

A voice in the back of your mind spoke to you. 

_It's around five in the morning._

You blinked owlishly before your head laid back down on Sans' hand and recent events of your life ran through your brain like a montage. You had a carry on now in your Soul...Gaster. 

**Why is your voice not garbled like before?**

_Most likely because your soul has been where it belongs long enough for the small piece of me to solidify it's place inside. Perhaps it is because you are half asleep and there is less mental interference when you aren't wide awake. Many possibilities._

**...was what Sans said the truth?**

There was a moment of hesitation and anxiety that spiked in your chest that wasn't yours and you closed your eyes as you waited. You weren't going to wake Sans up that early in the morning after everything, and you didn't want to get up either yet. 

_I...Yes. It was not my intention to let what happened happen, but it was the end result all the same._

You fought the urge to snort at him and instead settled for letting a feeling of silent judgment flood your mind for a moment. Your heart felt like it skipped a beat, but it was more inwards and to the center, so you knew it was your soul, or perhaps the small portion of Gaster's that was in yours, that was the source of it. 

**What you did...and what you made Sans do...It wasn't right. But I at the same time I can't see you entirely at fault. Not for everything. It sounds like you wanted to do good, but the way you did it could have had some work...I can't fault you for not being perfect.**

The relief that blossomed in your chest was short lived. 

**But I don't think Sans or Papyrus ever have to forgive you. Especially Sans. You didn't deserve to stay in that place for eternity, but that doesn't mean you deserve Sans' forgiveness.**

You were broken away from your internal conversation by a soft grunt, and then you felt Sans tense. Your eyes flew open, and you stared straight into Sans' slightly confused eyes. You didn't any words really, caught as you were. You had hoped to sleep a bit longer and eventually in your sleep slip away from him and just avoid the tangled torture that you were currently experiencing. 

Life seemed to have it out for you, and your emotions and thoughts drowned out any amusement that you may have felt coming from Gaster and Sans' sputtered softly. 

“Um...Morning?” You said, unconsciously tensing the hand still stuck up his shirt. 

He made a strangled noise and his face flushed a light blue. Your brain caught up to your body a half second afterwards and you turned a bright red to match as you went to jerk your hand back. You were stopped from the hold that he had you in, the arm that had been lazily laid over you suddenly as immovable as an iron bar. 

You gulped, but didn't make any attempt at moving, trapped as you were, fingertips still curled around his rib and your heartbeat thumping so hard you felt it in your throat. His eyes were blazingly bright, but you couldn't look away even as it make your eyes water slightly at the corners. 

After a time of him looking at you with an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes dimmed a notch and his body relaxed. You let out a breath that you hadn't realized you were holding and you also felt the tenseness of your body leak out of you. Shifting a little, your leg climbed a little higher without you thinking it through, and he let out a surprised noise. 

“Sorry!” You said, trying to untangle yourself for once and for all, finally getting your arms back as you struggled to sit up.

He let his arm slip off of you and sat up as well, rubbing at the back of his skull and looking away as you re-arranged yourself. Your shirt had gone every which way and your hair was hanging in a fuzzy poof around your face as you slapped your face softly. 

The fact that Sans hadn't said anything yet put you on edge and you looked over at him, worry crowding your face. 

“Sans?” You murmured.

“yeah?” He answered just as quietly.

“You okay?” You asked. 

“...no. but i will be. don't worry about me. worry about yourself.” He muttered, not looking at you still.

You glared at him and felt a righteous frustration rise in you. Oh hell no. 

“Listen here you, you stubborn skeleton.” You said, reaching out and turning him so he had no choice but to look at you. “You don't get to tell me what I do and do not do alright? I am worried about you, I am going to worry about you, and you are not going to convince me otherwise. I am sick of people trying to tell me not to worry. I have more than the capability to worry about myself, and you all at once okay?” 

He tried to look at anywhere but your face as you scolded him but you only huffed and kept darting your head around to be in his line of sight until he gave up, a reluctant smile tugging at his face. 

“you are somethin', ya know that?” He asked you softly. 

“Yeah, a human.” You deadpanned. 

That got a snort out of him and you relaxed a bit, letting your hand drift off of his shoulder and trail down his arm instead. 

“Seriously though, Sans. I know that all of this is...weird doesn't begin to cover it, but I'm smart. You're smarter, we aren't in this alone, and we will figure it out. Trust me okay?” You said, squeezing his hand that had found it's way into yours. 

“a course i trust ya...doesn't mean i gotta be happy about the tag along.” His voice getting a flinty edge to it. 

“You don't have to. I'm not asking you to feel anything when it comes to this. I...What happened isn't anything I could imagine having to experience, and the idea you should feel anything in particular other that whatever it is you do is ridiculous. Feel whatever you're feeling but don't feel obligated you know?” You tried to word out, feeling frustrated that it was so hard to voice your thoughts. 

You could feel him squeeze you hand back. 

“no i get ya...thanks.” He said. 

You smiled at him and shrugged softly as if to brush off his thanks. Before you could say anything further, the door of his dorm flew open, banging on the wall as Papyrus came in, a tower of tupperware in his hands balanced precariously as he made his way to the desk, shouting as he went. 

“I HAVE RETURNED WITH NURISHMENT AND LIAM.” He declared as both Sans and you froze.

'thanks bro, for the food. i could use some grub, im all flesh and bones sans the skin over here.” He quipped, grinning as Papyrus groaned and stomped his foot. 

“SANS!” Papyrus shrieked in indignation.

Sans and he started to go back and forth, mostly puns and shouts about betrayal. 

Liam was at the doorway, a sly sort of look in his eyes on his otherwise neutral facial expression. He glanced down at your joined hands and you wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up beneath you and swallow you whole. 

You didn't let go, regardless. 

And neither did Sans.

“I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT BOTH OF YOU ARE AWAKE, IT IS ALMOST EIGHT IN THE MORNING NOW.” He said once you finally clued back into the conversation.

You blinked in confusion, not sure where almost three hours had disappeared to since you had first woke up, but shrugged it off. 

“I've already took a look at your schedule, and you are set for at least another two days Pyx. You already took handed in most of your final projects as far as I could see, but you do have a final meeting you have to have with the science board about leaving and the rights to some of your work and whatnot.” Liam said, the slightest of smirks making its way onto his face as he watched you look everywhere but at Sans. 

“Thanks” You managed to squeak.

“SANS, DO YOU HAVE ANY FINALS THIS WEEK?” Papyrus asked.

“shit...ya said it was eight right?” Sans said, a dawning horror coming over his face as he finally let go of your hand and got up. 

“CORRECT!” Papyrus said. 

“i got one today at ten i think, i got enough time but i gotta get some lab supplies before i head over, it's a practical final.” He said, grabbing up a few of his papers and stuffing them into a backpack. 

You looked down at your hand, trying not to feel anything but failing rather spectacularly. You missed the feeling of his hand in yours and you didn't even have to look at Liam or Papyrus to know you were in for a hell of an interrogation as soon as Sans left. 

You were broken from your dread as Sans spun around to you. 

“well talk more later, 'kay Pixie?” He said in a rush, only waiting long enough for you to nod before disappearing from view. 

Liam looked intrigued but not entirely surprised by the teleportation, and you could only shrug at his questioning glance. He shrugged back at you and stepped into the room, clicking the door shut behind him with a hip check. 

“SO...” Papyrus started, and you wanted to shrink down to nothing at the look both of them were giving you as they stood next to each other in front of the bed. 

“Papyrus was kind enough to let me in on the fact you wouldn't be back last night...But I wasn't quite expecting to find you like this.” Liam said with a grin. 

You glowered at the both of them and pouted, arms crossed over your chest like a child. 

“IT IS A NOT ENTIRELY SURPRISING TURN OF EVENTS ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.” Papyrus remarked, and you gaped at him.

“Papyrus!” You said in shock. 

“PYX, I AM A SKELETON, NOT A SIMPLETON.” He said and Liam laughed at the look on your face as you turned a deeper shade of red and tried to hide your face in the blanket. 

“Yeah Pyx. Jeez. What do you take us for? Neither of us have missed any of the looks between Sans and yourself. I'm just kind of surprised that you forgave him so easily.” Liam said, a frown making it's way on his face. 

“I haven't. Not entirely yet, not really. I just...Can you trust someone fully and care and still not forgive them all at once?” You asked, feeling a bit lost as you pulled your knees up to your chin. 

You missed the look the two exchanged before they sat down on either side of you. Papyrus put his arm behind you and Liam leaned on you as you continued to stare at the pattern of the bed spread. 

“EMOTIONS ARE NOT REALLY...PREDICTABLE ALL THE TIME.” Papyrus said, squeezing your shoulder. 

“I think that whatever you are feeling is just that. What you feel. If you do then yeah, it's possible. Does it make sense to anyone else but you? Probably not. Does it have to? Probably not. As long as you aren't upset do what you want. I just don't want you getting hurt by Sans being stupid again. No offense Papyrus.” Liam said.

“NONE TAKEN LIAM. MY BROTHER HAS BEEN...A BIT THICK IN THE PAST AND WHILE HE IS MY FAMILY, I CAN'T SAY WHAT HE DID BEFORE WAS RIGHT.” Papyrus admitted. 

“Thanks guys. I don't know what I'd do without you both.” You said, tearing up a bit as you awkwardly moved around until you could half hug both of them. 

“Probably would have drowned by now.” Liam quipped and you let out a laugh as you slapped his shoulder. 

“Rude!” You said. 

“Yeah yeah, not the first or last time you'll say that. Anyways I'd love to keep chatting it up with you, but unlike some people I have a final project that still needs finishing. Do you wanna head back to the room or stay here?” Liam asked, getting up from the bed. 

You looked over at Papyrus and felt a longing in your chest that wasn't yours that made you stiffen. 

Until Sans and you figured out more...and despite how much it hurt you, you weren't sure if it was a good thing to be one on one with Papyrus. What if you wiped out a bunch of his memory because of everything? You wouldn't be able to live with yourself. So instead you forced a smile and nodded, and gave Papyrus a quick hug. 

“Thank you for all the food again Pap. I'll bring it over with me and stick it in my mini fridge and carb up on all of it throughout the day today so I can get some strength back. I think I'm going to head back with Liam and sleep a bit more. I'm still really tired.” You said, making the excuse up even while your soul hung heavy in your chest from the lie. 

“OF COURSE! GET REST AND FEEL BETTER PYX. I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW MAYBE?” He asked with a hopeful look and you felt like the old school fairy tale monster as you smiled and nodded. 

“Of course!” You said, even while your mind ran with the different ways to make it not obvious you didn't want to be alone with him as you and Liam stood and gathered up the food. 

“TAKE CARE FRIENDS!” Papyrus said as he watched you leave. 

Gaster stayed silent, but you couldn't ignore the longing that tugged at your chest. 

You hoped that Sans' practical wasn't too long.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trust me the pranks will return. I dunno why I ended up on this tangent but i honestly really love Gaster as a whole so sorry not sorry.

You had to let the water jug in the mini fridge sit out on the floor next to it to fit all of the containers of noodles, but eventually they were all set. Liam had immediately gotten back at his desk and was studiously working on a few of his final projects all at once it seemed, multitasking in a way that made your brain work. You only watched him for a little before you got an idea, and pulled out your laptop. Setting it to a music playlist you had, you stuck a pair of headphones on your head and laid out on your bed, snuggling down into your bedding.

Liam wouldn't bother you because of how busy he was, and the addition of the music or at least the illusion of music would also ward him off because this was the same way you set up to take a nap during the day, to drown out dorm life. 

In all reality you set the music to mute and let it go to complete the trick and instead turned your attention inward. 

**So. From one scientist to another. Explain.**

_You may have to be a bit more specific than that child._

You fought the want to roll your eyes. Instead you rolled over so you were facing the wall so Liam wouldn't catch you making faces at nothing. 

**I mean, specifically, tell me your side. It's what's fair even if you did admit Sans told the truth I'm sure there are more details he did not know. So tell me. Justify to me.**

There was a pause and you could almost feel the gears turning in your own head as he began. 

_I have no justification for how I become when my work started to engross me. I neglected my family, left my husband to take care of our children without me while I tried to be a savior to my people. Tried to make history almost entirely by myself. I wanted to free us, I wanted to make life better for everyone Underground, but a part of me also wanted all of the credit that came along with it. I was being selfish._

You hummed softly. It wasn't something foreign to you. You loved science and you loved your work. You loved making the world a little bit more sensible every time you figured out something and you did enjoy your name being on your papers. The recognition that came with making and creating and explaining. You could understand that part, even if the part about neglecting loved ones still sat over the line you didn't personally cross. You could see how it could be easy for someone to do it, if driven enough. 

A small sense of relief at your thoughts eeked out and you frowned. 

**Just because I understand it doesn't mean I don't think it was right.**

_I won't pretend that it was._

**Why were you forgotten?**

_...The Void is not...the same as the world itself. It's almost as if it belongs on the outside of the Universe as you or I understand it entirely. Separate and yet connected to it. One can pass through it and pop out the other side and find themselves in an entirely place._

**Sans' teleportation.**

_Correct. Yet once I was sealed into the Void with no way to get out, I changed. The darkness of that place stuck to me, and beyond that melted into me, became a part of me or tried to make me become a part of it. It was as if I was broken into smaller and smaller pieces so I could be scattered even throughout the Void, so I couldn't be separated from it without losing parts of myself as well._

You could feel a cold drip of dread trickle in your chest and shivered on the bed, pulling the blankets closer to your body. 

_I do not pretend to know how I still exist now, all I do know for certain is that my soul, something that should not be able to continue existing as it is, was broken into pieces and scattered across the Void, leaving me only as segments of myself, and yet aware throughout all of them. I am still in the Void even now, at the same time I am with you._

**And what happens if all of the pieces come back together?**

It seemed simple to you. 

_I do not know._

**Well we won't know until we try. If this is only a small bit of you, then logically if we put all the pieces back, you will be whole.**

_One would think so, but my body has long since been absorbed by the Void. Even if it were as simple as putting the pieces of my Soul together so that it was whole, I would have no body to inhabit._

**How do Monster bodies form anyways? Is it physical like humans, with pregnancy and embryo's, or is it something more magic based than that?**

You could feel a sort of clinical view point take center focus in your mind.

_Monster reproduction is entirely magic and soul based. Two Monster's who are physically different in every way can have a child together that is the sum of those two different parts. You know what my husband looks like. And you see what Sans and Papyrus look like._

**So they take after you more physically then? You normally look more like a skeleton than the goopy scarecrow thing I saw in the Void?**

You sensed his amusement before you heard it. 

_I am a skeleton monster, correct. The goop as you call it is more the Void than anything else in some sort of physical form, or the closest thing to it._

**I wonder what the specifics of genetics or something similar to genetics is like for monsters. I mean, they take after you, so are you considered dominant in genes or is it more just a randomized luck of the draw, which I mean is genes in and of themselves for humans at least.**

_There is a scientist who actually specializes more in genetics and mutations, but she also has a background largely in technology and magic studies._

**I'd love to pick her brain about all of this...maybe at a time when it feels less urgent. Something tells me Sans wants to take care of you, whatever that could possibly entail, as soon as possible.**

_Perhaps._

Both of you were silent for a time, you didn't realize that you had even slowly drifted off to sleep until Liam gently patted at the lump that you were on the bed to wake you.

“Hey, wake up you. You have to eat something and while spaghetti is delicious especially when Papyrus makes it I figured I'd take you out tonight.” He explained as he pulled on his jacket and looked at you expectantly.

“Oh. Um. Sure? Where to?” You said, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you rose from the bed.

You were technically already dressed, and suddenly realized that somewhere along the way with everything that had happened, all the events that had snowballed from one small moment, you had one of Sans' hoodies on still. You needed to change regardless, your work out outfit was what you had on underneath and despite the warmth of the jacket you were chilled once the blankets had been flung back.

Not even bothering to take off anything, you slipped a pair of jeans on over your shorts and thumbed at the zipper of the hoodie for a moment before shrugging and leaving it on. The t-shirt and hoodie should be enough. 

“I know you are probably feeling tired still, but you've been sleeping the entire day so I think it'll be good for you to at least be up and doing something for a bit. I figure we can head down to Grillby's and eat there, if you can handle it.” He said, phone out to order a cab. 

You didn't notice the subtle wall that had been built between you and Gaster while you slept, and without any sort of emotional response to everything, it slipped your mind about all that you had learned about Grillby recently. You shrug and hug your arms to yourself, bothered that it feel like you were forgetting something. 

Grillby's was a bar but it was also a restaurant, and you had stayed on the wagon this long. Even with everything happening and the fuzzy memories of how good it was to be drunk you didn't feel a huge want for something to drink. You were more hungry than anything else and it's not like you hadn't been to Grillby's since you'd quit. 

“Sure. A huge burger and an entire plate of fries sounds like a much better way to end this day than what I was planning.” You said as you followed him out the dorm.

“Yeah? What's that?” He asked as he nodded and put his phone away. “Our ride is a red mini van.” 

“Okay. And all I was planning on doing was keep sleeping. Maybe forever.” You said dreamily, laughing at his disgruntled look. 

“No.” He said. 

You burst into laughter as you stood on the sidewalk, and were surprised by how fast the van pulled up to the both of you. Climbing inside you chattered about mundane things with Liam, and despite the constant feeling of being watched, of having an audience that wasn't acknowledged while you tried to continue play acting a normal life, it was fun. 

Liam didn't know about a good portion of what was going on and you would have to tell him eventually, but something stopped you every time when you tried to get the words to form in your mouth. So for the time being you gave up and just went with the flow instead. 

You arrived quickly enough, considering that Grillby's was only a short jog away from the campus anyways. You followed Liam into the place, and both sat at a booth, looking over the menu even though you already knew what you wanted to order. 

While you waited on Liam, a feeling that tickled at the back of your head made you pause. And then, it was as if a dam had broken. All of the held back emotions from your visitor poured through and threatened to drown you as Grillby stepped up to your booth and waited for you to place your order. 

“L̵̛̮̰͔̯̠̺̻̂̄͆͂͒o̵͇̮̬̹͍͙͗͌̅̅͗͠ṿ̴̨̢̨̺̗̜̯̤̰̙̝̘̖̦̽͆̋̽͋̔̾̿̉̓͘͘͘͝ę̷̛͈̬̥͉͙͙̠̪̲̰̺̞̩̖̙̑̓̒̃̊̓̌͛͋͆͘͠͠...” Your mouth opened not of your accord and what sounded like sudden gibberish crawled out your mouth before you slapped a hand over your lips, alarm written across your face. “I'm so sorry.”

You wanted nothing more than to hide, but Grillby only stared at you, a bright flame crawling a bit higher in confusion before Liam swooped in to save the day. 

“She's going to have the monster burger special and I'm going to have the toss salad and chicken tenders, both with water please.” He said, handing Grillby the menus and looking over at you with barely concealed concern. 

Grillby hesitated for only a moment and took the menus with him as he walked away. 

You buried your head in your hands and sighed deeply. You realized now that this was probably not the best place to find yourself. All things considered. 

Gaster was distraught, a deep unending sadness that flooded your system as he yearned to be near his husband. A pain, for having been separated, a deeper pain at being forgotten. 

“So...what was that?” Liam finally asked, looking at you as you peered at him from over your fingertps.

“I...don't even know how to begin...” You said, sighing. 

“The beginning usually works.” He said, not trying to be rude and you rolled your eyes. 

“Well...first I have to explain to you how Sans gets around so fast...” You began, scooting in besides him instead of across from him so you could whisper.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Went to a con today and had a blast as a steampunk rep for the con. Essentially got paid free admission as long as I dressed up and interacted with guests to get them interested in some booths. 
> 
> Was a lot of fun and but feet and back hurts now but I did get some really cool loot while I was there, also if you check out my tumblr at reaxeons.tumblr.com and check out my I drew dat tags you'll find my mental image of what pyx looks like (or at least just her face but I mean like come on, I not only drew her but wrote another chapter)

Your food had arrived halfway through your explanation and you had fallen silent until Grillby had walked away, choked with the desperate emotions whirling around in your soul as Gaster tried to control himself. 

“So...to recap. Your boyfriend can teleport, and in this place...there is a bunch of blackness and you swallowed some, passed out and then somehow grabbed a piece of someone no one else remembers and brought him along doggy bag style out of the dark place.” He said, after tearing into some of his food.

“Sans isn't my boyfriend, but...yes? I mean you know as much as I do at this point. I don't know how I did it. I don't know what to even do. All I know is he is here now.” You say, eating a handful of fries sullenly. 

You hated not knowing what was happening. You were a scientist because you wanted to know how and why things happened and now you were thrown headfirst into something that was more magic based than science. You weren't going to get very far on your own. At least Liam was already somewhat familiar with soul and some basic information on them. You had told him about your training with Papyrus, and he had friends outside of just you on campus, monsters themselves. 

“So...” He started. “Justice huh?” 

You scoffed at him and rolled your eyes. 

“Out of everything that I just told you that's what you choose to focus on?” You ask him.

He shrugs and pays for the food, getting up from the table and waving farewell to a few friends that had seen him as he lead you back home. 

“Well I mean. That's your soul. I could have guessed it, honestly just thinking about who you are as a person makes it obvious.” He started to explain. 

“What? Why?” You demand.

“Pyx. You picked a fight with a group of guys twice your size because they tried to rile up Papyrus. You fight not only your grandmother on the topic of monsters and many other important topics, but you were banned from the debate club for refusing to back down ever for what you felt was right.” He started to tick off on his fingers before putting his hands on his hips. “The only reason why we ever met is because you took it upon yourself to defend me from that bible thumping maniac that caught me kissing my boyfriend of the time.”

You looked away from him, face red as you crossed your arms and pouted. 

“So?” You retorted.

“So, you prickly pear, you have a very deep sense of right and wrong, of Justice in it's most plain form. You cannot find any willpower within you to stand down from some form of wrongdoing, even if it puts you in danger, which it has basically every single time.” He said, ruffling your hair gently as he pulled up into his side as you walked.

You grumbled but let him, sighing softly. You had had no real idea of who you were before you even saw your own soul, you hadn't been able to see your own actions on their own as something worth measuring in such a way but the fact that Liam, and it seemed just about anyone that knew you in any way could see through you so clearly put you on edge. 

“Hey, it's honestly not a bad thing. Sure you are kind of headstrong and keep jumping into danger headfirst but...you are doing it for good reasons.” He said, squeezing your shoulder. “I mean, that's why you have the tag along right now anyways. You couldn't bear to just leave him to his fate because it didn't feel fair to you.”

“Yeah, not a bad thing but I'm reckless and constantly causing trouble. Road paved with good intentions and all that jazz.” You said in response and sighing. 

“Listen. I'm not going to ever win a verbal tiff with you and we both know this, but I don't get why you want to put down yourself so bad for this.” He said, letting his arm drop as he walked ahead to open the door to the dorm for you. 

“It's not even that!” You shout, cringing when he jumps and rubbing at your face as you walk past him. “It's not that it's a bad thing really I just...When I first learned about souls and all the information about it I had no clue at all what mine would be like. I had no idea of who at the core of me, who I was. I had no clue and yet you are here telling me you could have seen it in a dark room with a blindfold on and it pisses me off because I don't know myself at all and yet everyone else does!” 

You had tried to calm down, but you gradually got louder and louder until you slammed the door shut behind him before throwing yourself onto your bed.

“Pyx.” He said, and you continued to pout. “Pyx look at me you stubborn piece of work.” 

You peered at him from under your pillow maliciously.

“What.” You asked.

“What color do you think my soul is?” He asked, sitting at his desk, prim and proper as always. 

“What? Why?” You asked, sitting up.

“Just try and guess. Humor me.” He said, crossing his arms as he stared at you patiently. 

You stared at him, rolling the question around in your head seriously. Instinct latched onto a color and as you pondered on it longer you found you couldn't help but agree with the gut. 

“Green.” You blurted out.

“Okay. And why do you think that?” He asked, as if he was a teacher and you were a bright but slightly confused student on the verge of something. 

“Well I mean like, you are kind. So kind. You put up with me all the time and you never get mean, even when you are mad you aren't mean about it it's like you don't have a mean bone in your bo...dy...” You stop as it suddenly clicks in your head and you squint at him.

“You have no idea what color your soul is do you?” You ask.

“Not really. I'd thought about it a few times since the first time I started getting exposed to more monsters, but I'd never really felt comfortable having it pulled out or even playing at a confrontation to find out. Last time I had guessed I had stuck to Patience.” He said with a shrug, and wide smirk.

You scrunched your face up and stuck your tongue out at him. 

“Fine. It's not a huge surprise that people seem to know others better than they know themselves...But seriously, you've never seen your own soul?” You asked.

“Nope.” He said, popping the 'p' softly. 

You stared for a moment before opening your mouth and closing it again, working up the words. 

“Do you want to?” You asked.

He seemed to think about it for a second, seriously. You could tell because his eyes unfocused for a moment and he was still as he ran through his own internal monologue. 

Gaster had been a silent but engaged audience this entire time, fascinated by the seamless relationship that you and Liam shared. 

_Do you even know how to draw a soul out by yourself? You only just found out you were even capable of magic at all._

**Shh. I...I'll figure it out. Besides couldn't you help me if I can't yet?**

_You put a lot of faith in the power of a splintered segment of a monster that before today, existence had forgotten._ He responded dryly. 

**Oh okay, you can't, I understand. Don't worry, wouldn't want you pushing yourself too much, it's okay.**

You fought the bristling feeling you felt wash through you at your remark. 

_I will have you know I am what Monsters call a Boss Monster and I am quite capable of doing more with magic than you could ever imagine._

**You are, or you were?**

You couldn't resist the small barb. It was stressful having someone piggyback and give attitude when you weren't looking to start a fight. 

He grew quiet, but you could feel a sluggish and tingling sensation work its way from your chest down your arms to your fingertips. Thrumming with energy there was the faintest aura of yellow and purple glow, so soft you knew you wouldn't notice it if you didn't also feel it pushing against the skin of your hands. 

“I trust you Pyx. If you think you can do it, I wouldn't mind verifying your guess.” Liam finally answered. 

_You are absolutely certain you wish to do this? It is rather...private._

**I'm doing this for Liam, not for me! I know it's...complicated with monsters but I'm not looking to get into Liam's pants, he's as straight as a scribble and I'm just helping him see himself. So yes I'm certain, you absolute stick in the mud. Now help me.**

It was like muscle memory and deja vu had a baby when you lifted your hands and curled them towards yourself, as if reaching out and pulling an apple off of a tree limb. You felt only the slightest of resistance, like dipping your hand into water, and then the room was filled with a bright vibrant green glow. Seaweed salad, limes, the smell of fresh cut grass and mint, but spicy as well, it made you think of jalapenos. 

You let your hands drop to your sides as you backed away from him, giving him room to reach out and touch his own soul. You could feel Gaster check out of his audience seat and retreat further inside of your soul. You knew it was considered rude to look, but you couldn't tear your eyes away as you watched Liam reach out and grasp it in his hands, his brown skin making you think of soil and his soul so green, something so alive and growing from him. 

It looked dark, like an opaque and polished stone. There were soft divots in a few places as he ran his fingers over the surface, and you could see the slightest hint of tears gathering at his eyes as he regarded what was essentially himself, plain as could be made. 

Remembering suddenly how overwhelmed you felt when you first had your soul popped out you leaned forward and gently reached out to place your hands on top of his, careful not to touch his soul in the slightest way. You pushed forward, and Liam allowed you to push his soul back into his body, slumping against you and holding onto you desperately as if he would fall over if he didn't. You could feel his tears soaking into his shoulders, but he wasn't sobbing. He was laughing, hugging you close. 

“Thank you....I didn't think it would be like that but thank you.” He said once he caught his breath. 

“Sorry I didn't think to warn you. That was pretty stupid of me.” You said, laughing at his face when you finally separated from each other. 

“No that was great! I feel, jeez I feel pumped. Like I could run a mile. There is so much energy in my body right now, why would you say sorry?” He said, going a mile a minute, bouncing in his seat. 

“Um. When it happened to me I got like, super overwhelmed so...I dunno I saw you crying and panicked a little that you'd be mad at me for not preparing you for all that.” You said, waving your hand halfheartedly in his direction. 

“Oh. That makes a bit more sense. But no, don't worry. I...if I am overwhelmed right now it's in a good way, like the vibe you get going to a concert. I'm fine.” He reassured you with a bright smile. 

You roll your eyes at him. 

“You're too kind.” You deadpan, jumping a bit at the somewhat forced laughter that comes from the doorway. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to my roommates they helped me run the knock knock jokes and honestly this end of the chapter is because of them.

Sans stood there, and you scrunched your face up in confusion, knowing for a fact that the door had been closed. Not locked maybe, but how long had he been there lurking? There was a nervous energy that was entirely on you, and some slight cautiousness that tickled towards the back that you realized was Gaster. 

“good one Pixie. how you feelin'?” He asked, an edge to his voice that threw you off.

Gulping and fidgeting for a moment you took a breath and waved slightly, all the while screaming internally that this was awkward and you wanted to escape.

“Hi! Sans. I'm good! How...were your finals?” You blurt out, trying to break the tension that was running thick in the air.

Liam was swinging his head between you and Sans with a slightly suspicious and bewildered expression, as if he was slowly catching onto something that you didn't realize. 

“was fine. Just droppin' by to check up on ya, make sure every thin' was peachy.” He said, hands deep in his pockets as he glanced between you and Liam, eyes too bright. 

**Oh man oh how long was he there? Did he see us?**

_Judging from his look...he has been there a while._

**WHY AM I SO WORRIED ABOUT THIS WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING WEIRD??**

Liam came to a conclusion long before either Sans or you did, taking matters into his own hands when he stood up, wiping at his eyes slyly. 

“Well, I'm actually headed out for the night. I need to study for a final and I'd already made plans with some friends to do an all nighter group session at the library. I just wanted to make sure Pyx was fed before I fled off into the night.” He said, packing up his bad and tossing a look over his shoulder to Sans. “I know a lot has been happening lately. Pyx sort of explained as much as possible to me at dinner. You mind staying with her while I run off?” 

You sputtered and glared at him. 

“I don't need to be babysat!” You exclaimed. 

“No, you don't. But I think with everything that happened leaving you entirely alone until we know more is reckless. And I figured you could use the company anyways, I know you hate being in the room alone.” He said, throwing his bag onto his shoulder. 

You pouted but didn't say anything more, not wanting to confirm or deny what he had said. You would get him back later for this betrayal. 

Sans had only watched on, a slight amount of confusion leaking into his otherwise hardened expression as Liam waved him good bye cheerfully and walked down the hall. 

Leaving just the two of you, one in the door way and one huddled slightly on the bed. 

Staring at each other. 

_Well this is fun._

**Shut up.**

“Ah...come in? No need to hang half in the hall I guess. If you don't mind we can stay here or go to your room, whichever you want?” You said, extending the olive branch.

“...sure. here's fine.” He finally answered, stepping inside and clicked the door behind him.

You weren't really sure where to even begin. You felt almost like you had been caught by someone with your hand in the cookie jar but you hadn't done anything wrong. It was a favor, not something you went out of your way to do for some sort of payoff on your end. It was something life changing to see your own soul and you wanted to share that with Liam. It wasn't anything further than that. 

“so care to explain yourself?” Sans said flatly.

“Excuse you?” You finally blurted out after you let your mouth hang open in, crossing your arms. 

He stared at you, and you stared back at him with the same intensity, getting angry with his accusative tone. 

“nothin'” He said, backing down.

“Oh for fuck's sake, cut the crap Sans. I know something is bothering you and if you don't tell me we can't work it out. I thought we were going to work towards you earning my trust, not dancing around issues. Don't talk to me like that and then try to pretend it didn't happen.” You spat out, getting more and more upset the more you felt backed into a corner.

You weren't actually mad at him so much as you were worried he was mad at you. But you were not about to admit that, your stubbornness refusing to give in and just preemptively explain what was going on so there were no misunderstandings. No, you felt trapped in a corner and you were lashing out and trying to pretend that everything was 'peachy'. 

You could faintly feel Gaster receding, as if he was leaving the room to give the two of you space to talk it out. It was distinct, like he was checking out and no longer listening and you were unnerved by the fact that he could just choose to be there or not it seemed. 

“fine. i saw everythin' an' im wonderin' now what kinda thin' is goin' on between you an' Liam.” He said, one eye blazing and suddenly it clicked in your mind how the brothers took after their other father.

“Yeah well if you had seen 'everything' like you said, you'd know it wasn't anything like that! Liam hasn't ever seen his soul I only pulled it out so he could look at it.” You said, squinting at Sans. 

“i'm surprised ya even know how to do that on yer own but it looked all a lot more intense than just a helpin' hand.” He said, pacing in front of you, flame in his eye climbing higher. 

“Oh for- Look. Look at me you stupid skeleton.” You commanded, a now familiar tingle of magic rushing to your fingertips as you touched your chest and pulled your hand away from you.

Your soul sat in your palm, and your world turned to grey, all except Sans' eye. It's bright blue was the only other light as you watched him stop dead in shock and stiffen. If this was the only way you could get it through to him, then fine. He could protest all he wanted and think ill, but your soul couldn't lie. 

He would have to see the truth in your words now.

“Pyx what are you doin'?” He asked, his voice faint.

You stood from the bed and faced him, lifting your chin. 

“I'm **confronting** you.” You said, as you reached out towards him and with a pop his soul appeared before you. 

It was beautiful, and you could feel yourself flushing slightly. It looked bumpy, like frosted glass or the thinnest layer of snow over top of ice, with the bluest glow you had ever seen in your life pulsing behind it, soft like a firefly. There were small lines throughout the surface that also reminded you of cracked ice, like someone had tried to stop and cross a stream, and when you locked eyes with Sans the glow got a notch brighter. 

Both of you stood stock still, it was the first time you had ever seen his soul and he didn't look angry so much as perpetually surprised by you at this point. Which was good because you felt like you had taken a huge gamble starting a confrontation with him just to settle a misunderstanding. 

“so that's how ya wanna play it?” He asked, and you **acted** fast by nodding your head. 

He shrugged and his face eased into a smile, but you could tell it was still forced. A lazy wave of his hand and you saw the smallest bone attack in your life inch towards you. 

Curiosity ran rampant through you as you stepped to one side and let the attack pass you by. You stared at Sans, **checking** him out. How could you resist, while his soul hung before you and you could find out a bit more, just like when you had stared at Papyrus too long the first time you started to get a hang of confrontations. 

At the time all you had gotten was a sense of confirmation from his soul to yours that he Loved Spaghetti, but after that you had realized that you could find out facts about someone by way of **checking** them during a fight.

So stared you did. And then you gasped. The words echoing in your head confusing and worrisome all at once. 

The easiest enemy. Only has 1 hp.

“Sans-” You started to ask, but he cut you off. 

“knock knock.” He said.

“....Who's there?” You asked.

“boo.” He said.

“Boo hoo?” You asked, confused.

“aw don' go cryin', it's just a joke.” He said, with a small smirk. 

You blinked before groaning loudly. 

“Sans!” You half shouted, but you couldn't deny the smile working it's way onto his face.

You felt a soft twitch from your soul and realized he had **checked** you as well.

You wished you knew what he had learned, because his face was becoming more and more blue and you were about to **say** something about it, when your soul suddenly rushed back into your chest and his disappeared from view as well, colors coming back to you before you plopped down onto the floor. 

“What? Why'd it end so fast?” You asked.

“i spared you.” He said, skull ducked down and to the side away from you. 

You could still see the blue glow on his face though.

“So...are we good now?” You asked meekly. 

“yeah. sorry. i was bein' kind of a huge dick wasn't i?” He said, rubbing at the back of his head. 

“Yup.” You said cheerfully, laughing as he got more blue in the face. “What did you learn anyways that's making you look so stunned?” 

His skull jerked towards you and his eyes went out, and you waited, confusion clear in your face because of his reaction.

“nothin'” He tried.

“Sans...” You said with a warning in your tone.

“knock knock.” He tried. 

“Sans, no!” You said.

“come on that's not how it goes.” He said with a nervous grin.

You sighed and rolled your eyes. 

“Who's there?” You relented.

“teleportin' skeleton.” He said.

“Teleporting skel- SANS GET BACK HERE!” You shout once you pop your head out into the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of flavor text that would pop up if one checked Pyx in a confrontation:
> 
> Loves a good pun.  
> Thinks about space a lot.  
> Enjoys star gazing.  
> Is in love with a skeleton.  
> On the brink of discoverying something ground breaking.  
> Pyx is concentrating.  
> Pyx fidgets with her hair.
> 
>  
> 
> Can you all guess which one Sans saw??? LOLOLOLOL


	12. Chapter 12

You jumped to your feet, and slammed your door behind you as you stalked down the hallway. He was not getting off that easily from this. You were supposed to be good, and good doesn't mean run away at the slightest hint of vulnerability. Growling loudly as you passed by the dorm rooms between his and yours, you could feel the frustration almost boiling over. 

Kicking the door you called out to him. 

“Sans let me in, you bag of bones!” You shouted.

There was no answer, but you could see the slight shifting of shadows as he moved around inside. 

“Sans I can literally see the light on, I know you are in there. Let. Me. In.” You called out, emphasizing yours words with kicks. 

You pulled at your hair in frustration before you had a sudden epiphany. 

“Knock knock.” You called through the door. 

You could see his shadow putting him right behind the door, and could hear muffled swearing before the door settled as he, most likely, leaned against it. 

“who's there?” He said, sounding defeated.

“Adore.” You said.

“adore who?” He asked.

For a split second you almost said 'I adore you' but that wasn't the one to get him to open the door.

“There's a door between us, open up.” You finished. 

There was a moment of silence, before you heard a low chuckle and the door swung open, revealing Sans as he stood there, hands deep in his pants pockets.

“You know, Liam would be pissed if he knew you ran off without me when you totally agreed to keep me company. You know, safety and everything.” You said, as you brushed past him and flopped down on his bed. 

“yeah?” He asked, sounding put out.

You nodded in confirmation and rolled until your head half hung off the end of his bed and stared at him. He looked everywhere but at you, and you followed him with your eyes as he walked around his room for a bit until he finally settled into his desk chair, a faint hissing sound of air accompanying it, but no honk.

“That thing finally ran out of juice?” You asked, a grin wide on your face.

“not quite.” He answered, and at your cocked eyebrow he continued. “i took the reed out a' it an' now it just sorta sizzles.” 

“...If you went to all the trouble of taking a part of the mechanism out that causes the noise why didn't you just cut the tape off and take it off your chair?” You asked.

He shrugged and smiled, finally looking at you with a soft look. 

“its a good joke, i appreciate it bein' there.” He said.

“Of course.” You said, as if his answer didn't puzzle you.

Swinging your legs around you sat up, tossing your hair out of your face as you looked at Sans. 

“Why do you always run away?” You asked finally.

The silence stretched thin between the two of you, and you just waited. You weren't going anywhere anytime soon, but you weren't looking to push him either. It was an honest question. The first time he had ran he had pushed you away while he was at it. The second time, you had ended up swallowing blackness. Now he was still just disappearing as soon as you tried to reach out to him. 

He didn't answer you and that spurred you on to fill the empty air between you. 

“I just...if I'm pushing too far with you tell me but every time I try to talk to you...Every time I try to learn more about you and get closer you just-”You snap your fingers,”vanish into thin air or try to get me to leave. You don't have to try and escape me if I'm making you uncomfortable just tell me instead. You know?” 

He continues to watch you, and you don't notice the horrified look that washes over his face once you look away from him, rubbing at the tears welling in your eyes. The tears blurred out any details and you groaned softly at yourself for being emotional. 

“I j-just. I already almost l-lost you once and I feel like you're t-trying to push me away and escape all over again and if th-that's what you want then f-fine! But don't string me along.” You said, hiccuping from the effort to keep yourself from sobbing. 

You were an emotional wreck, and the fact that you could feel Gaster waiting on the edges, having returned with his own feelings of confusion and concern made you feel even more unstable. There were too many emotions even if it was only you and adding Gaster's into it, and the embarrassment of losing it in front of Sans had you curling in on yourself as much as possible. Maybe you should have just napped longer. 

As you tried to get the tears out of your eyes, you were startled and let out a small sound of surprise when Sans sat besides you on the bed and tucked you under his arm. You clung to him, realizing now that he still wasn't wearing his jacket, just a turtle neck sweater. You didn't have it in you to pull back from him to give him his jacket back, so you let yourself be held. 

“i'm...scared.” He said and you frowned. 

“Scared of what?” You asked softly.

“you...me, us. it's not everyday tha' i get close ta somebody like i did with ya Pixie. you scare the shit outta me 'cause i want to be more wit' ya but i don't feel like i know what im doin'.”

“What is there to know? I like you as you are, you just have to be yourself.” You murmured into his shirt, calming down,

“i've never gotten this far before. i'm in uncharted waters an' it makes me panic.” He admitted. “i dunno what the future holds for me at this point.”

“Well no one really does do they? That's what life is, taking what it throws at you day by day and moving forward.” You say, scooting closer so you can lean your head on his shoulder. 

He adjusts to your movement, and turns his head to look at you from the corner of his eye socket. You could feel a blush working its way onto your face but ignored it and the faint amusement that you felt radiating from Gaster as you snuggled closer to Sans, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. 

_I'd ask the exact nature of your relationship with my son but I have an idea._

You stiffened slightly and fought not to roll your eyes. 

**Do you mind?? Could you not?? Trying to have a moment here.**

_Don't get upset with me. I didn't choose to be here, there is only so long I can essentially 'sleep' so I'm not present._

**Is that what you do when you check out, you take a nap?**

Sans stares at you as you seem to zone out and he taps your arm lightly to get your attention.

_It is the closest description I can attach to the action, so yes. I take a nap._

“Hmm?” You hum, looking up at him. 

“you talkin' wit' him right now?” He asked.

“...yes?” You said meekly.

He grunted and held you closer, setting the side of his skull against your head. 

“...Gaster and I talked before, and I had an idea?” You said after a time of silence among all parties.

Sans stayed quiet, but looked at you to continue.

“He explained to me that...That place, the Void whatever, it tried to essentially consume him and he was scattered, sort of like a diffusion in gas or liquid. So I think, if we can gather the pieces of him left in the Void, we could look into the possibilities of making him whole again?” You start, getting on a roll as you sat up to look Sans properly. “I don't know how Souls work overall from a scientific angle, but doesn't it make sense that before we can do anything else to separate him from me, we could gather all of his pieces and put them together? Or at least group them together so he was no longer scattered.”

“perhaps. the thing is is that when monsters die their soul shatters an' they turn to dust. so from the information ya've gathered, Gaster is hangin' between life an' death right now. he's been shattered, but hasn't turned ta dust.” Sans explained. “there's this...state tha' some monsters go into, it's called fallin' down. their soul starts ta shatter, it has the cracks an' the pieces separate from one another, but it holds together for the most part.” 

_That is a good observation. I hadn't thought of the fact that it could be so similar to a natural state that monsters take when they are close to death, being so caught up in the reality of being surrounded by the Void and devoured by it._

“So you think if we get the pieces together and they hold somewhat, he's in this state of falling down and there might be something we can do?” You asked, ignoring Gaster for the time being.

“maybe, there would be more goin' on tha' just that seein' as a piece is stuck in you and then there's th' matter a his body ta consider.” He said, shrugging before falling to the side and rolling until he was on his back on the bed, staring up at his ceiling in thought.

You hesitated, watching his face for a time while he organized his thoughts before carefully flopping down besides him. Beyond a slight blue tint to his face he didn't protest as you tucked yourself into his side and laid your head down on his shoulder. 

“When I talked to him he made it sound like his body was a lost cause...but if we could create a body somehow, maybe that would work? What are the actual requirements for a body to properly house a soul?” You asked.

“well, i know for monster souls the body has to have magical properties. the body could look or feel organic or mechanical but as long as the materials are magical in origin it can house the soul.” He explained, one arm coming up and wrapping around your shoulders hesitantly. 

You smiled and inched a little closer, laying one of your hands on his chest. The blue got a bit more intense, but he wasn't trying to escape so you would not call attention to it.

“So couldn't we just...build him a body?” You asked.

“not quite, it's one thing ta make a body for a soul ta reside in that's never had a body before like a newborn or a ghost monster, an' a whole other thin' ta make a replacement. if we just create an entirely different body than th' one he had before it'd be hard for his soul ta adjust. at tha' point the soul might reject the body or vise versa and we end up back at square one.” He said, sighing heavily.

“So what do you think is the best course of action for the body building?” You ask, getting a light chuckle out of him from your word choice.

_The obvious course of action would to create a body for myself in a similar fashion that Sans and Papyrus were formed._

**Aren't they your sons though? What exactly are you suggesting by that?**

_Yes, and I only meant that one of them bonding with someone of equal lineage perhaps, as Sans is also a boss monster, he would be the best candidate for it, despite his...weakness._

**What do you mean by that?** You could feel a chill go down your spine. **Don't talk about Sans like that, like he's some sort of specimen. He is your son, so try acting like a father instead of a mad scientist.**

 _Mad scientist?_ He sounded mystified. 

“the best would likely be me donating a bit of myself into the mix so it would have not only magic but familial attachment to it that should ease the change. if we can manage to separate him from your soul without him completely shattering.” He turned to look at you with a grim look. “honestly if i didn't already know you would fight me tooth and nail on it i'd attempt to separate him anyway possible and leave him to rot.” 

You sat up quick as a flash and glared at him, and he held his hands up in surrender as you pointed at him.

“Sans I get that what he did was unforgivable, for everything he did not just the last thing. But you don't have to forgive him. You don't even have to give him a change, but you do have to get it through your skull that being shredded apart and scattered across that...” You shivered as you spoke,”darkness is not something that even the most horrible people deserve. You don't have to like him, you don't have to do anything with him if you really feel that strongly about it. I'll do it on my own and find someone else to assist me on it.”

He shot upright just as quickly and shook his head, reaching out to hold onto the hand that had been shoved in his face.

“no i'm goin' to help you. i'm not goin' to just leave ya with him to deal with. for everythin' that he is, he is my father.” He said, looking away as if ashamed.

You felt shock that wasn't your flood through your body.

You sigh and rub your thumb across the back of his hand, noting the dips between the bones. 

“Thank you.” You murmur. 

He glanced up at you, a soft look on his face as you looked down at his hand in yours and laid back down, tugging you down with him. 

“a' course Pixie.” He said back, just as quietly. “i'd do anythin' for ya.”

You shifted to look up at him.

“You mean that?” You asked.

He hesitated, as if he hadn't known he had said the last part out loud before nodding, coming to a conclusion.

“yeah, i mean it.”


	13. Chapter 13

You laid there, not talking so much as just soaking up each other's company for a time. You could feel his hand rubbing small circles on your shoulder blade, as if he was steadily mapping out the skeleton you had under your skin. You in turn had spent the time letting your fingertips trail up and down his ribs lightly, fascinated with the feeling of substance where you knew logically there was none. There was surface tension where there should have been empty space, and yet it thrummed with a steady buzz that told you it was magic. 

Eventually the two of you had been left in a dark room, so dark that the only lights in sight were Sans' own eyes and the slits of yellow light coming in through the blinds from the streetlights outside the dorms. Sans' eyes and him hmming softly a song that you couldn't place was the last thing you remembered before drifting off to sleep. 

When you woke, Sans was already gone, his blankets piled high on you. You smiled and let, for just a moment, the world go on without you as you basked in the warmth and the smell of his blankets before flinging them all off of you and getting up. You checked the floor for any sort of trap, but no pranks were in sight and somehow that upset you more than everything else that had recently happened. 

Perhaps it had been too much to hope that things could at least pretend to be normal. 

Not letting it get to you too much, you stole the jacket on the back of his desk chair, zipping it up to the very top and smiling at how big it was, hanging low on your thighs, and more than covering your hands. It was cozy, and Sans would have a fight on his hands trying to get it back from you at this rate. 

Gaster had kept, wisely, quiet for all of the time you stayed in Sans' room and any time after that unless you addressed him first.. You were thankful for that, realizing that you were going to have to have a break down at some point, but now was not your last straw and you'd rather keep it at bay as long as possible. Gaster seemed to have come to the same conclusion and was trying to be as unobtrusive to your life as possible, as you tried to go about your last days of college until moving out day rolled to your feet. 

You shook the thoughts off, and opened the door of your dorm, only to pause and stare. Liam was there, seated on his desk chair in a very familiar stance. Center of the room so you'd see him, lying in wait. 

“Uh.” You squeaked, catching on to the look in his eyes.

It was an evil look. An evil look of evil-ly thoughts and plans and you wanted nothing to do with it so you immediately turned to walk back out the dorm, but the door had already clicked shut behind you, and he was up out of his chair in a flash. You set your head against the door in defeat.

“So, my friend. My most friendly of friends. You want to talk about you … and a certain skeleton?” He said, grinning much to much for your comfort when you finally turned and looked at him.

“Well I mean, you know Papyrus and I have been friends for a while so I don't see what else I could possibly update you on...” You tried, trying to inch around him to get to the safety of your laptop. 

“Mmm I meant the other one.” He said, turning to continue watching you as you slinked around the room. “You know, the shorter one that can teleport and gets this look on his face that looks like he'd die without you.” 

“What? Really?” You immediately asked, pouting when Liam's smile on grew wider, threatening to crack his face right in half. 

“I knew it. I knew you couldn't stay away for long.” He said, a tint of gloating in his voice. 

“So?? Maybe I really like him and it sucks trying to hold onto anger when I get all burnt out.” You said, crossing your arms over your chest. 

“Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing.” He said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “All I'm saying, is I was totally right and Sans is definitely your boyfriend. Skelefriend? Man, how are you handling that with the constant chaperone?” 

You hold up one hand and shake your head. 

“We do not speak of it unless I'm mentally prepared for it.” You stated sternly. 

Your grasp on sanity was stretched thin the more you thought about it, so you had decided just not to unless it was in a laboratory setting. 

“Okay.” Liam said easily, backing down. “So with...everything, have you had any time at all to pack? We leave here in about four days or so.” 

“No, But most everything that needed to be packed has been, it's really just my laptop, bedding, and the few clothes I kept here that needs packing, I could just do it the night before and that morning.” You said with a sigh. “Your sisters are all coming you said, to help the move?” 

“Yeah, the whole crew is showing up in two different vans so that we can get it all at once and also because all of them wanted to finally meet you.” Liam said with a smirk, leaning on his desk as he watched you fidget and flit about the room in nervous energy. 

“I hope they don't hate me.” You murmur. 

“They already love you you nerd, calm down.” Liam said.

“Hey! Rude, you are more of a nerd than I am.” You shot back, flopping on your bed to stare at the ceiling. 

“That's a matter of opinion Pyx. Regardless, I'm glad you found your way back today because you have about half an hour until you have to appear before the Board of Science to discuss your final paper to be published directly from the college and to collect the rest of your awards they had hanging around.”

A soft whine rose from your chest when you realized he was right.

“I hate dressing up and dancing like a monkey for those guys.” You said, sitting up with a frown. 

“Well, at least it's the last time around. Do you even have something appropriate to wear after sending off all your other clothes?” He asked, quirking a brow. 

“Yeah.” You sigh, waving at the closet.”It's the only thing left hanging in there.” 

He reached out and pulled the cloth curtain from the closet to take a peek. The dress inside was a nice seafoam colored affair. It mimicked a button up dress shirt on the top and had a flared out skirt. There was a slim belt at the waist colored somewhere between a caramel and cream. 

“Nice.” He said, letting the curtain fall from his fingers before turning back to face you. “How you going to keep in touch with Sans when we get out of here?” 

“I...hadn't thought about it? I mean even if I didn't...like him, because of everything else it's important that we keep in touch to work on...yeah.” You said, frowning deeper. 

You hated how complicated your life was suddenly becoming. 

“Well. I mean, we could go house shopping like you wanted. You can still text him and maybe skype for a bit until it gets all straightened out.” Liam said, as he pushed away from his desk. “You said you wanted to find a place where your grandmother wouldn't be caught dead being near.” 

“Yeah, but what does tha-wait.” You jerked upright, a smile growing on your face to mirror Liam's. 

“Knew you and your big brain would get it. I bet we could convince Papyrus and Sans to let us visit for a week tops, and that gives us more than enough time. We do have to get to my parents first. Think of it like a pit stop.” Liam said.

“Have I told you lately how perfect you are and how you are going to a guy real happy one of these days?” You said, as you bounced up and down in excitement, ignoring the curiosity and confusion that didn't belong to you rising.

“Not recently but that's okay, the first twenty times were enough.” Liam said with a laugh. 

“Get their address from Papyrus, asking about staying the week and let me know what it is so I can start the search online and contact my agent.” You ordered.

“Aye aye Captain.” Liam said with a mock salute, laughing as he danced away from your incoming smack and did as he was told. 

“And don't tell him the plan. I want it to be a surprise.” You said.

“Oh course.” He said, looking up from his phone.


	14. Chapter 14

You bounced on the balls of your feet, nervous energy filling you to the brim and flooding Gaster enough that he had gone as soon as he could. He had wanted to stay with you as you met with Papyrus, but your emotions were not worth it in the end it seemed and you couldn't give much of a thought about it because you were too focused on what all of your emotions were about. 

That being the meeting with the science board leaders about your work and the possible funding you could get off of them without working directly for them or having to give them the right to put their name all over your work instead of your own even while using their money. 

Relief washed through you at soon as you caught sight of Papyrus and you took off in a half dash before throwing yourself at him and laughing as he swung you around. Since the beginning of your training with him, you had gotten a lot more comfortable with physical contact in general and even Liam was noticing it when you didn't break away from hugs prematurely. It was nice.

“HELLO DEAR FRIEND! ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR ENCOUNTER WITH THE BOARD OF SCIENCE?” He said as he set you back on your feet.

“No, but I'm going to have to do it anyway.” You said with a grin as Gaster popped up in the back of your mind. 

_He looks healthy. I am so glad that the issues with Sans never cropped up in his life._

**Hey, do you mind not being a dick in my brain for five minutes? Go back to sleep or something.** You grouched for a half second before returning to a smile and linking arms with Papyrus.

“I would love to get a quick snack with you before going before the jury. Let's get some tea from the cafe around the corner of the science building.” You said. 

“OF COURSE FRIEND, WHATEVER YOU WISH TO DO, SO SHALL IT BE.” He said with a happy glint in his eyes as he walked besides you. “LIAM ASKED ME ABOUT HIM VISITING IN THE SUMMER.”

“Oh?” You asked, trying to keep it cool with a smooth curious face. 

It would be no good to let Papyrus in on the trick, Sans can always tell when Papyrus doesn't tell, even if there is no lies taking place. 

“YES! I WAS WONDERING IF PURHAPS YOU WOULD ALSO LIKE TO DO SOME PLANNING WITH SANS AND I TO COME OVER DURING THE SUMMER AS WELL?” He asked, a pleading look on his face as you tapping your mouth with your free hand.

“Hmmm. I dunno Pap, I wouldn't want to be a bother.” You said with a grin.

“NEVER! YOU ARE THE FURTHEST THING FROM A BOTHER.” He said indignantly. 

“Oh, well if you are so sure. Yeah, I'd love to. I dunno when I'll be able to seeing as...I have to get...You know, my dad and all.” You faltered, not wanting to lie to Papyrus even if it was something small and for a surprise so you settled for a half truth.

He however took your emotional distress and stuttering to be about your father's death instead of the white lie you just forced out and nodded, suddenly solemn as he looked down at you.

“OF COURSE PYX. YOU TAKE AS LONG AS YOU NEED TO, BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THAT LIAM, SANS, AND MYSELF ARE HERE FOR EVERY STEP OF THE WAY TO SUPPORT YOU IF YOU FEEL IT'S TOO MUCH ON YOUR OWN.” He said, unlinking his arm from yours so he could instead throw it over your shoulder and pull you closer for a half hug. 

“O-of course.” You managed to choke out, emotions getting the best of you as they had been since Gaster had started taking up some of your vacant headspace. 

_How touching._

**Shuddup you. As if you haven't lied about much worse in the past.**

The silence in your head was deafening.

**...Sorry that was uncalled for.**

_No, no it wasn't. But apology accepted and appreciated regardless._

After that the walk to the cafe was quiet but comfortable for all involved. Papyrus purchased a spicy and sweet chai and you frowned at the choices before picking out a match tea frappe that made you almost cross eyed with how delicious it was. 

“Oh Pap, you have to try this please, it's so good.” You gushed quickly, pushing it towards his face. 

He only smiled and took a small sip before his eyes almost bugged out of his skull. 

“PYX, THAT IS TRULY AMAZING. WE WILL HAVE TO COME HERE BEFORE WE LEAVE FOR THE SUMMER.” He said.

You nodded in agreement as you sipped at your drink and fidgeted with the shoulder strap of your bag. All of your research you were willing to share was in there, your work along with some contracts you had had Liam and a friend of his, who was a poli-sci major and criminal justice minor, had written up. If you could get the board to agree to so much as look those over you would call it a win. If they signed it you would never have to worry another day in your life about your work or the funding for the work. Well, specifically for at least a ten year period as long as you kept up your side of the contract, but that would be child's play. Just give them your work you promised. It was what you had been doing while wasting time away before meeting Papyrus and Sans, and everything else had happened to throw your calm, and admittedly depressing, routine out of wack completely. 

You wouldn't trade it for anything, you thought, as you watched Papyrus drain his tea and stare at the bottom forlornly. 

Checking the time you felt your eyes widen and jumped to your feet, thrusting the bottom half of your unfinished drink to Papyrus. 

“Finish mine and be here again in about an hour and a half, the meeting is in two minutes I gotta run!” You shouted as you raced down the hallways, dodging the few students walking to and from their last finals and meetings. 

_If you need my assistance while negotiating, I am willing to lend a hand._

**I might just take you up on that, we'll see.**

You cringed and forced yourself to hold your head high as you walked into the semi-crowded room and sat at your designated spot. You hoped you didn't make a fool of yourself. 

_Far too late for that worry._

**Shuddup!**

And then your mind went blank as the meeting started. 

“Miss Seilmann, I'm so glad you could be here to discuss...”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sigh shakily as you escape from the room, Gaster trying to exude calming thoughts as you tried to not panic in the hallway. Everything had gone as well as you had hoped, they were going to review the contract, they loved your final work, you had a tentative budget for the next year. But all the attention and speaking, the multitasking of speaking half your own words and half Gasters and following the different strands of thought from each board leader had your heart about ready to burst from your chest.

But it was done. It was done and something suddenly clicked in your head and you let out a joyful shout that startled a few students around you as you finally caught sight of Papyrus and took of towards him much like you had earlier and skidded to a stop before him to hug him around the waist, picking him up and swinging him around with some level of strength that was not normal for you. 

Gaster made a note of it, but you and Papyrus both were too busy squealing, you in joy and Papyrus in surprise to pay any attention to it. 

“I did it Pap! I did it!” You said, smiling so wide you worried your face would slip in half. 

“CONGRATULATIONS PYX!” He said, sharing in your excitement as you finally set him back on his feet, and he teetered for a moment before regaining balance. “WE MUST INFORM SANS AND LIAM POSTHASTE!” 

“Agreed!” You said, taking off on a brisk walk, Papyrus's hand in yours as you laughed happily. 

It wasn't long at all before you both were standing outside of Sans' dorm room, and Papyrus bust down the door as was normal. 

“asgdhfl paps whatd i tell ya 'bout kickin' in the do-” Sans started to sputter, standing up from his desk in a hurry and flipping papers and folders over in rushed movements. 

You threw yourself at him and hugged him tightly as you bounced in excitement, taking him with you as you did so. 

“Sans I did it! I got the committee to look over my contract and they gave me a budget and oh Sans I'm so excited, everything is starting to fall in place for once!” You half sang. 

His laugh was contagious as you felt it rumble in his chest. His hands wrapped around your back and pulled you tight in a hug that had you melting, a confusing rush of emotions making Gaster 'tch' softly in the back of your head, which you steadfastly ignored. 

“ 'm proud a ya Pixie.” He murmured, and you could feel the ghost of his nasal cavity nuzzling into the side of your neck before a pointed clearing of a throat had you both jumping away from each other. 

Papyrus stood there, a mischievous look on his skull as he rose one brow bone. 

“YOU SEEM QUITE ENTHUSIASTIC, SANS, FOR PYX'S ACHIEVEMENT.” He said with a smug tone of voice.

“a course i am pap, Pixie's worked hard for this. aren't ya proud?” Sans said, slowly turning blue under the scrutinizing gaze of his baby brother. 

“OF COURSE I AM, AS IS LIAM. THOUGH I DO NOT BELIEVE I WAS QUITE SO...TOUCHED .” He said with a good-natured cackle as you shushed him. 

“Don't you make fun of me Papyrus, that's unkind!” You said, pushing him out the doorway. “Why don't you go talk to Liam about your summer plans and leave us alone?” 

“ALONE, WHY OF COURSE. I'D LOVE TO.” Papyrus said with another cackle as he waked down the hallway, the door shutting behind him quickly. 

You sighed and let your back hit the door, eyes closed as you let out the breath. When you opened your eyes Sans was there, taking up your entire view. 

“alone, huh?” He said, a husky tone to his voice that had you biting at your bottom lip. 

You shrugged softly and tilted your head to the side. 

“It made him stop didn't it?” You asked. 

“for now.” He said with a smirk. 

“You were gone when I woke up the other day.” You murmured, as he stepped closer, one of his hands came up to rest on the door, next to your head.

“had some things to do. ya looked so comfy, didnt wanna wake ya.” He answered just as quietly.

“It was rather comfy. Best sleep I've had in a while.” You say, looking at him through your lashes. 

“ya know, sleep deprivation is serious business. maybe for healths sake ya oughta spend th' night again.” He said, his hand moving from the door to cup your cheek. 

“I think I'd like that.” You said, your breath heating up the space between you both as you closed the distance and kissed his teeth. 

You don't remember how you both managed to go from the door to the bed, but it happened one way or the other, because when the daylight broke through the window of his room, you were buried under the pile of blankets, and had exactly one (1) skeleton curled up behind you, spooning you with his breath hitting the back of your neck, as you took in the new day. 

You could get used to this.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing kicks me into action like comments asking where I've been
> 
> I've been in the hospital for some back surgery and work but I'm back lol. Here's a chapter and I got a few more on the way.

“Sans.” You whispered, as if speaking any louder would break the moment.

He groaned softly behind you and you stifled a laugh at how disgruntled he sounded. 

“Sans I gotta get up.” You said, just a bit louder. 

His arms around your waist closed in instantly and you struggled for a moment, only to realize there was no escape. 

“nah.” He said. 

“Saaaans let me up.” You whined, trying to look over your shoulder at him with a mock glare. 

“why? im comfy, yer comfy.” He grunted, nuzzling his face deeper into your back. 

“Because, I have to pee.” You said simply.

It was amazing how fast he let go of you and you laughed as you pulled on his hoodie and slipped out to get to the bathroom down the hall. 

Something about being alone suddenly made you realize just how monumental of a moment this was for you. Inside the beige stall, you realized that you honestly loved Sans too much to be able to keep yourself away, and that you wanted to trust him again. Fully. Not put him through any sort of paces or test him. But just give him a second chance and go forward. 

It made you feel lighter than air and you grinned manically at yourself in the mirror as you washed up, slapping your cheeks with your slightly wet hands.

“You can do this Pyx. You got this.” You said to your reflection, as you pointed at the surface. “You are not going to mess this up. Everything is going to be so much better than before and nothing can stop you!” 

_I hope you realize that speaking to yourself in the bathroom would make most consider you unhinged._

**Yeah well, maybe I'm just....crazy in love.**

_What you are, is impossible._

You had let out a peal of laughter as you left, hurrying back to Sans room. 

He hadn't gotten up by the time you had returned, instead had burrowed deeper into the blankets. The only thing that tipped you off that he was even awake was that his phone was lighting up his skull. 

You flounced over and landed on the bed, jostling him slightly as you wormed your way back under the blankets and then very purposefully rubbed yourself all over him as you got as close as was physically possible and settled yourself inside of his arms. If his phone had happened to be knocked under a pillow in the commotion, that was just an expected casualty of your maneuver. 

You smiled at him sweetly and pressed a soft kiss to the space between his sockets.

“yeah?” He said with a rumbling laugh that had you feeling much warmer than could be blamed only on the blankets piled high on you. 

“Mm hm.” You hummed back. 

“well alright, cant argue with tha' kinda logic. 's too sound.” He said, nuzzling you back, a thrumming in his body picking up that you now knew as magic under the surface. 

It seemed the best time to bring it up, but you hesitated for a moment, before taking in a breath. 

“We gotta figure out a way to keep in touch.” You said, trailing your fingertips over his ribs. 

He grunted and held you tighter. 

“Seeing as the semester is done and I've finished all of my finals I officially have to be off campus by the day after tomorrow around noon. Same with Liam.” You continued, “I know that Papyrus has one more test left and I don't know about your schedule.”

“'m done an' have been for a bit. was given an all clear to leave wit' Pap.” He said. 

“Okay, that's good then. Obviously we have our cellphones but I figured it might be nice to have video calls? I mean if you want, we don't have to...” You trailed off, suddenly unsure if you were pushing forward too fast. 

It wouldn't do for him to clam up like the first time. 

“sounds nice, you thinkin' skype or somethin'? He asked, breaking your worries in half. 

“Yeah, skype or anything really that allows the video so face timing or something would work.” You paused for a moment and looked at his face instead of where you had had your eyes trained on his neck column. “I was also thinking....maybe you would be okay with me trying to come visit some time? You know, during the summer before we all start grabbing at all those hot jobs on the market and don't have time to think?” 

_Wouldn't it be easier to have him visit you, considering his abilities?_

**No, that would ruin the surprise. Duh.**

_Of course. How remiss of me. Duh indeed._

You could taste the sarcasm and it made you smile wryly. 

“id like that. i could always drop in on ya, makes it real easy for getting' t'gether.” He said.

“I... don't think that would be the best way? I'm staying with Liam and his family until I figure out what I'm doing with my living situation.” You said, trying not to feel bad about the slight fib. 

Liam and his family wouldn't care at all about him visiting but it would ruin the plan you had brewing. 

“oh?” He asked, not sounding disappointed per se, but you couldn't tell. 

“Yeah. I don't... I don't want my dad's place and I've already paid a bunch of movers to pack it all up and put it at a storage place. I'm getting it sold right now and I'm trying to cover my tracks as much as possible so my Grandmother doesn't hunt me down and find me.” You explained, nuzzling into his neck as much as possible. 

His arms squeezed you softly, and you placed a gentle kiss on his bones within reach as you sighed. 

“makes sense. just lemme know when yer thinkin' of headed in our direction.” He said, twirling a lock of your hair in his fingers behind your head. 

“Of course.” You lied. 

_Why bother with all of this subterfuge? ___

__**Surprises are fun! I want to do something spontaneous, you know.** _ _

___No, I cannot say I do._ _ _

__**Well you're just boring then.** _ _

___B-boring?!_ _ _

__You snickered at how outraged he sounded, and Sans leaned back to look at you with a strangely distant look on his face._ _

__“havin a chat?” He asked._ _

__“Oh... Yeah, I guess. It's more like letting my mind wander but...Yeah?” You said, thrown off that he could tell, but then again you had sort of zoned out of the conversation you had been having with him. “Sorry.”_ _

__“nothin' ta be sorry for.” He reassured you. “im sure my mind would feel a bit jumbled wit' an extra shoved in there.”_ _

__“Yeah...” You said quietly._ _

__“hey,” He said, tipping your chin up with his hand to have you look directly at him. “were gunna fix this.”_ _

__“I know. I trust you.” You said._ _

__His smile was wide, and you took a moment of joy in that you could do that to him just by telling the truth._ _

_  
_  


__The day went by quickly, the two of you spending most of it in bed either watching videos on Sans' phone or wrestling around in bed, getting so far as making out heavily before you would pull away and settle down again._ _

__You enjoyed this new intimacy you had between the two of you but you weren't sure how far you were willing to go right yet. Pushing the boundaries didn't seem the best and the ever present second soul kept both of you from going too far._ _

__Neither of you really relished the idea of doing anything with your Souls with a third party present, or going much further then making out when the essence of a father was ever watching._ _

__Though Gaster did seem to try and give the two of you privacy, likely not on board for watching if he could help it but regardless. Things stayed on an even keel._ _

__Instead you spent a good portion of the daylight trailing your fingertips over every surface he was willing to offer you, as if you were memorizing and mapping his body structure in your head. Like you needed to know him inside and out so that in the future you could call forth every single piece of him. Like you were never going to see him again, against all the logic that told you you would likely see him the very next day and the day after before you left._ _

__Something desperate inside of you wanted to just keep touching._ _

__He in return seemed just as focused on you, but in smaller details. The way your hair moved when he twirled it. The way your eye color seemed to shift in the light, or your cheeks would rose with pink when you laughed too hard at something that you lost your breath. How you smelled slightly of him after being wrapped up in his arms and his blankets for so long and how that made his chest burn with want and something else that he didn't want to think about._ _

__By the time that it was getting dark again, you had explained to Sans you did have to go back and get to packing the last of your things. Tomorrow would be the last day on Campus, and then the day after Liam's sisters would be arriving and you would be gone off to his parents. You had already texted each other all of your contact information about ten times over, email, skype and all forms of social media either of you had._ _

__Not only had you explained, but you had had to re-explain every five minutes for the last two hours, because each time you had tried to gather your clothes and get ready to leave he had some how convinced you to get back in bed with him for just a few more moments, which then turned into a never ending cycle of trying to leave and failing miserably in that regard._ _

__“Sans. I'm serious.” You said._ _

__“hi serious, im sans.” He said with a grin and goofy wink._ _

__You groaned at him and pushed against his chest, trying to wiggle out of his grasp._ _

__“Sans. I have to get back. You can see me tomorrow and even the day after before we leave, we won't be gone until noon. His sisters are showing up at eleven and it won't take long for us to pack everything so if you wake up early enough you can see me then too.” You tried again._ _

__You didn't really want to leave either but the more rational side of your brain knew that it wasn't going to be good for you to just ignore the world and you did want to eventually get a shower in before you met all of Liam's family, and you also had promised to get the mini fridge cleaned. You had things to do, things that didn't include getting chewed on by a skeleton no matter how fun that sounded._ _

__You sighed, exasperated, and pushed harder, wanting to actually get up even if it would take a bit longer to convince to let you leave entirely._ _

__You were the only one that didn't take note of the sudden surge of energy that came from your palms, magic that didn't even glow for how small it was, but it was felt and noted by both the skeletons paying attention to you, one with surprise and the other with a clinical curiosity._ _

__“okay okay, i suppose i can let ya loose this time.” He finally said, letting you go as you rolled and half tumbled onto the floor._ _

__“Freedom!” You shouted as you hit the ground and laughed._ _

__You gathered your clothes up and started to get dressed properly, looking over your shoulder at Sans._ _

__His eye lights were following your every move and you blushed, before letting out a slightly nervous giggle and pulled your pants up._ _

__“You know you could always come over with me and help with the packing if you really wanted to. I just gotta get it done you know?” You said softly as you got the last of your clothes on and zipped the hoodie._ _

__You turned in time to see his shoulders shift back down from a shrug._ _

__“i gotta pack too ta be honest. Paps been on m' case 'bout it fer a bit but i guess i could get on tha' too. be responsible an' all.” He said._ _

__You smiled and came up to the bed, leaning over to land a peck on his nose ridge._ _

__“Alright, well you know where I am so if you get done early you're free to come over. Liam isn't going to mind. “_ _

__“course.” He said._ _

__“Alright, I'll see you later Sans.” You said, dancing away from his grabbing hands and laughing as you walked down the hall to your own room._ _

__A muffled bye sounded through the door._ _

__Being out of the room for the first time since the bathroom break felt different. Still hopefully and full of promise, but now you felt a bit scared as well. Nervous energy in your limbs as you got back to an empty and half packed room. Liam was likely out getting dinner, it was around that time. You weren't sure of the feeling you had heavy in your chest as you sat down and started to pull the few things you had here still together, piling it on your bed until you got to your luggage._ _

___I am not that type of Doctor, but I would say the feeling is anxiety._ _ _

__**Gee thanks. Love the confidence boost that knowledge gives me.** _ _

___It wasn't meant to boost anything other than your own self knowledge._ _ _

__**You are the bluntest person I've ever known in my life.** _ _

___Perhaps that just means I am the most truthful._ _ _

__**Doubtful.** _ _

__You sighed as you ran your fingers through your hair, taking mental stock of the things you had laid out on your bed. Clothes, laptop, various charging wires and some binders with your latest findings inside, written in a half short hand code you picked up when you watched Liam do club minutes._ _

__You switched to rubbing at your face with your palms. Jittery and wishing you could just stop existing for one moment so you could get yourself pulled together._ _

__Which made your mind jump to something similar but entirely different at the same time._ _

__**Gaster?** _ _

___Hm?_ _ _

__**… what was it like?** _ _

__There was a silence that was beyond just dead, but heavy and pressing down on you as you stood there and waited for the response. The only sound was a rushing in your ears that you faintly remembered as being your own heartbeat._ _

___Lonely, and terrifying. Worse than any kind of hell or purgatory that human or monster alike could conceive on their own with their limited understanding of life and time and space. Painful. Endless._ _ _

__A shiver ran up your spine and your chest ached, and you dropped to your knees, holding your hands to your chest as if it would keep the phantom feelings of Gaster's memories of the time he spent in the Void from pouring out and into the room. It was only an echo but your Soul beat in time with his in sympathy as the memories rushed through him and you wanted nothing more than to make it right._ _

__“We're going to fix this.” You gasped out loud, but you knew he was listening. “I promise you, I will fix this.”_ _

__And the smallest flame of hope flickered within his shattered soul._ _


	16. Chapter 16

There was heavy disappointment hanging around your neck as the entire next day passed without seeing either Papyrus or Sans. In all it made sense that both of them may be busy, after all you weren't the only one packing and you had packed ahead of time most of your things. Sans' room had still been full to the brim with his belongings when you had spent the night. It made logical sense that he and Papyrus both were busy during the last days. 

Logically there was nothing wrong and everything was fine and you should just learn to relax. 

But your Soul beat against your chest in a steady stereo beat with your heart and you felt like crying at the drop of a hat. Which is why Liam had declared it a PJ day by the time noon had rolled around and both of you had huddled on your bed with the laptop perched on one of each your legs to keep it steady as you watched movie after movie. Every single heart stomping and sappy movie had been played and you were mostly cried out, but you felt better. 

Which had been Liam's plan the entire time and you knew it but you chose to ignore that in favor of the welcome distraction. 

It was only when he got up to go and make you another massive bowl of popcorn, which would take him about ten minutes or more because he did three different bags and also poured chocolate chip pieces in between layers for the full effect that you started to feel the unease creep back in again. 

_You are more attached than I had expected of such a fledgling bond, between human and monster no less. It's curious._

**I have no idea what you're even talking about.**

You scrubbed at your eyes, willing yourself not to feel frustrated. It wasn't like Gaster meant to be illusive and difficult to understand. 

**You don't try to confuse me on purpose right?**

_Not usually._

You hrmp'ed and waited for his explanation. 

_I forget at times that you don't share my memories in full even though I seem to have relative ease at plucking at yours._

Your blood ran cold in your veins. 

**What?**

_Did I not mention? While I am not actively concentrating on a conversation or watching the day to day happenings I have but to only wander and I find myself in your memories. I try not to look, but often times when you sleep it's as if I don't have any choice._

**NO YOU DID NOT MENTION THIS EARLIER!**

You feel your chest heave as you panic, feelings claustrophobic and trapped in a way that you hadn't since you had been in the room with your grandmother watching each other for the first sign of weakness after your fathers death. 

_I can assure you I haven't been poking my way into anything forcefully._

**Thanks...**

You hold your breath and try to count, exhaling and repeating until your vision stops spinning. 

**Bond. You talked about a bond.**

You tried to steer everything back on course, hoping that you could curb your anxiety. 

_You truly don't know, do you?_

**Listen if you want to be dense about this and treat me like an idiot I'll just go and find Sans to help explain.**

Alarm rushed through your body and you froze, fear spreading over your skin. 

_If you do not realize then he does not realize and revealing this information too soon could cause issues. I will explain._

You waited, still frozen in your spot. The whirling of your laptop fan filling your ears. 

_Monsters bond together when they become involved with one another. Platonically or romantically it doesn't matter so much as the fact that they are decided on the fact they want to tether themselves to someone else in a permanent way. Some see it picking your own soulmates, others view some forms of it as a promise to each other akin to human marriage. Family members are already tethered together from the time of birth, but the bonds can be broken, given enough reason._

He paused and you felt a distant pang in your chest and the sensation of flames licking harmlessly at your eyelashes. 

_Once a monster has strong enough feelings about another, and if it is reciprocated in even the smallest amount, the two feel drawn to each other until the bond is complete. For platonic bonds that is usually seeing but not touching each others Soul outside of a confrontation. For the more romantic ones, that involves a full joining session, where not only do you touch each others Soul, but the Souls themselves touch each other._

You felt your face flush despite yourself at the very idea of something so intimate happening with anyone, let alone Sans. But then a specific phrasing of his explanation came crashing to you. 

**You are saying all this as if it's a purely monster thing. Does it... does it not work between humans or human and monsters?**

_Quick you are. Humans used to operate in a similar manner when magic was more widely spread and monsters were more than myths. Once magic was cut off from them, they turned to physical versions, but they were much harder to solidify because of the loss of direct contact between Souls. Not impossible, but much more difficult._

**How do you even know that specifically?**

_The Void hangs on the edges of reality, and while there I saw all there was and ever would be, so it difficult to not see what was presented to me. How humans did on the surface and how monster did underground, the timelines where it was the opposite or never happened at all._

Your head hurt with the implications of that but you pushed on. 

Then what of humans and monsters?

_It is much the same as either on their own, except because of how physical humans are usually bonds between the two races took longer. Add onto the fact that in the past it was widespread knowledge that a boss monster could absorb a human Soul to become even more powerful than before? That some humans also had this ability to become powerful Mages? Neither race was as willing to risk that except in real honest bonds. Socially it was frowned upon as sheer stupidity. But it did happen._

**So why are you so surprised with the fact its there?**

_I'm not surprised by the mere presence of it, I would be more astonished if you and my sons did not have any level of bonds running between you. No, what catches my attention is that you are just short of a joining until you have a complete bond between you and Sans, and are but inches away from a full platonic bond with not only Papyrus, but a fully realized one with Liam without you having ever shown him your own Soul. It's a level of magical connections of which humans for centuries has not had._

His tone sounded off to you, as if he wasn't remarking on something interesting because it affected you so much as it was something he could use. As if you were suddenly something to put under glass and inspect for opportunities and you felt a shiver race through you. 

“I gotta tell Sans.” You said under your breath, struggling to get out from under your blankets as Liam appeared in the doorway. 

“Sorry it took so long there was a line for the microwave...Pyx, hey where are you going?” He called after you as you went to go past him. 

You opened your mouth to explain to him, maybe even bring him along with you but the words that came out were not your own even if the voice was right. 

“Just gotta use the bathroom real quick. Start the movie without me.” Gaster said with your voice, as you walked towards the bathroom, and watched with growing horror as he went into a stall and sat, locking the door.

You screamed and railed against your own mind, fighting to so much as twitch your fingers, to blink, to breath of your own accord but it wasn't your body anymore. You were trapped as Gaster looked down at your hands and flexed them, cracking the knuckles unintentionally as he stretched them too far. 

**STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STO-**

_Do calm yourself._

**YOU WANT ME TO BE CALM WHEN YOU BODY SNATCH ME?**

_I am doing nothing other than preventing you from rushing into something you may regret._

**What? What could I possible regret about having open and honest communication with a guy who in my opinion has a right to know about this? Takes two to tango? Ever heard of it?**

You felt hysterical.

_The fact that you having these intense bonds between these people may be caused by my shard being inside of your Soul._

**...what?**

Confusion and fear and a dawning comprehension of what he may be talking about barreled through you and you shook, your actual body shook as you gained control.

_Now you see what I am saying._

**...The magic inside of me because of you could be the catalyst for the bonds...My being a human not raised around the norms of this wouldn't know what to do instinctual, but yours would...Liam would be because of the fact I brought his Soul out with your help, and the human bond we had from being friends, but everything that's happened since you arrived would be tempered with the fact that it could be the familial bond you had before the Void trying to re-instate itself...**

You sobbed wordlessly into your head as you tried to get a hold of yourself. 

**What if Sans doesn't even care about me except for some weird bond trying to reconnect because of you? What if that's why we've been even closer since then? Papyrus and I were friends enough that it may only be increased because of you but I haven't even seen him much since then, but Sans...**

You felt yourself gasp in air as you tried to calm yourself, but the sobbing only increased. 

_For the sake of your sanity and mine, it would be best to try and avoid my sons physically until we are closer to removing myself from you._

Your Soul beat a moment of pain and dulled as you felt the fight go out of you. 

What he said made sense...but it didn't make it any easier to accept. 

“Yeah...I guess you're right.” You murmured, blowing your nose as you stared at the stall walls, mindlessly reading the graffiti there. 

_How I wish I wasn't._

You felt his pity but it arose nothing from you other that a sense of defeat.

You washed up mechanically, pinched some red into your cheeks and patted cold water soaked tissue on your face until you no longer looked like you had been crying your Soul out. Fixed your hair and forced a relaxed smile as you went back to Liam, waved off any concern he had on an upset stomach and stared mindlessly at the screen as movies played, trying to come to terms with your turmoil that broiled inside. 

_...We will fix this._

You weren't sure if you believed him.


	17. Chapter 17

The next day started early, though it didn't have to really. Liam was still sleeping when you sat up in your bed and turned, leaning with your back to the wall, knees tucked up under your chin. 

Thoughts faded in and out of focus as your inner turmoil boiled under the surface. The sky outside was just the barest hint of pink melting into the dark blue and the moon was still noticeable. 

_Do you....need someone to help organize your thoughts?_

**I'd rather you didn't honestly. I think you've taken charge of a bit more than I ever wanted you to recently so if you could kindly keep your mitts off my thoughts as well that would be great.** You snapped.

The silence stretched and you felt a heaviness in your chest. 

_I deserved that._

You struggled not to feel guilty for the feeling weighing down in your chest as it sank further.

_I am surprised that after everything you still have this protectiveness over me. That you do not just allow Sans to rip me from your Soul and let me go. It's what would be most logical._

You rolled your eyes and shook your head. 

**This has nothing to do with logical. It's what has to do with what is right. There is no justice in leaving you to nothingness, whether that be the Void or death. You've done wrong in the past, and you wasting away doesn't right those wrongs either.**

_… You have a very pure Soul._

**Thanks I guess?**

_You have a very strong connection to your own core. It's not something I am used to with humans._

**Yeah well...I dunno what to tell you really. I've always been like this. Only time I wasn't fully myself was after my dad...You've seen the memories I'm sure.**

He wisely did not confirm or deny, leaving you to your thoughts again as the sun rose fully and the birds started to chirp loudly. Clouds sailed past lazily and the sun caught their underbellies. 

“Red skies by morning, sailors take warning...” You murmured to yourself and sighed. 

“What's on your mind?” Liam said softly, looking at you from under his blankets. 

“Dunno.” You answered as truthfully as you could. 

“Mm. Well today is ride in the car until you forget how to walk day, so hopefully we can shake some of those thoughts out then.” He said, rubbing at his eyes and sitting up as well. 

You smiled gently at him and tried to let the lightness in your chest not escape. You had Liam. You had Gaster, whether you wanted to or not. You did have Papyrus and Sans, just not up close right now. You would be able to make it just fine. 

Knowing or at least suspecting what you did, you at least had motivation to get Gaster out and into a spot his own as soon as possible. 

“Sure. When are your sisters getting here?” You asked, swinging your legs down and off the side of your bed so you could stand and stretch. 

Checking his watch he sighed and let his head hit the wall behind him softly. 

“About an hour. They wanted to get here early as possible so knowing Lisa that means leaving by ten, but knowing Lauren means they left at nine and stopped three times making them get here at eleven.” He rambled.

“Remind me of all the names again. I'm terrified I'm going to get it wrong” You said, changing into your clothes for the day. 

“Oldest to youngest is Lauren, then Libby, Lily and Lisa. Only Lily and Lisa live at home currently, but Lauren and her wife are visiting for a couple of weeks before moving into their new place and Libby is also getting out of college and staying for a bit before headed to her boyfriends place. Lily is just starting college this coming year and Lisa is not doing the college thing and wants to stay home to help with Gramps and Gramma. ” He said, getting up and getting dressed as well. 

“How many people live in your house at once again?” You asked with a grin.

“Mom, Dad, Gramps and Gramma, Lily, Lisa, myself currently. So seven. It's going to be a full house of eleven with you and everyone that is visiting.” He said, counting off on his fingers and then shrugging when he ran out.

“Are we all going to fit?” You asked, a bit worried about adding just that much more to the family that already sounded rather full.

“Girl I have told you this repeatedly. We have a big house. I really need to get those pictures to show you but you are going to see it in person so you will get the idea. It's an old chateau sort of building. Gramma inherited it from her father because she was the only kid that took care of him when he got on his death bed. The family was a bit wealthier back then and we rent out some of the rooms of the building to people for like art rooms and dance lessons and random things, but it keeps the electric on.” He said with the practice of someone who has explained this around six times. 

“I'm still surprised that after being roommates for so long neither of us have seen each others childhood homes. Now I'm going to see yours and you'll eventually this coming year see the empty shell of mine. It's just an odd full circle thing that makes me feel old.” You said as you swept over the room with an eagle eye, trying to spot anything not already packed and set to go. 

You wanted your meeting of Liams family to go well. 

“It's just your sisters, yeah?” You asked again. 

“Correct. Mom and Dad have to work and Gramma and Gramps are holding down the fort at home for now unless we show up. That and Rowan is there but I think she's just going to be waiting until Lauren gets back. The woman is very kind but painfully shy. It's hard to catch her in that place sometimes.” Liam said, not unkindly. 

You stopped before you even began to respond, and cocked your head to the side as the sound of what you would have described as thundering came up from the stairwell down the hall. 

“That's them.” Liam said with a grin. 

A whirlwind of women showed up at the door just as he brushed past you and opened it. 

“Hello Pyx, it's so good to meet you finally!” The first woman said, taking your hand and squeezing it for a moment gently in greeting. “I'm Lauren.” 

“I'm Libby.” The next said softly, giving you a small wave from behind her taller sister. 

“Oh it's so nice to finally have a face to the name!” The third said as she flung herself towards you and gave you a quick hug and then backing up again. “Lily.” 

“AND LISA!” Shouted the last as she also launched herself at you and wrapped you in a bear hug, crushing your spine. With love.

“H-ello everyone.” You managed to squeak with the last breath of air you had in your lungs. 

“Alright alright, introductions have been made, let Pyx breathe.” Liam said, pulling on Lisa's braids teasingly. 

“Bro are you still the biggest stick in the mud this side of the playground?” Lisa demanded, fists resting on her hips as Lauren comes closing to you again.

“Is this side all of your things? You'll be riding in the van with myself and Lily if that is okay with you.” She asked as she pointed to your bags.

“Oh! Yes, sorry. Is she always this energetic?” You blurted out, wincing at how blunt you sounded.

Lauren just laughed and nodded. 

“That's just how she is.” Libby said softly, tucking her own braids behind her ears as she motioned to be handed the mini fridge. 

“Oh are you sure? I can help with that...” You protested softly before trailing off as she hefted the entire thing onto her shoulder with ease. 

“Oh this? Don't worry I've got it.” She said, and you got a good view of her arms and could only nod dumbly. 

Girl was stacked. 

Short work was made of your and Liam's room, it was spotless in two trips each person, and your keys were turned in in quick order. 

“What's it like going to college with monsters?” Lisa asked, eyes bright.

“Sort of the same as going with humans honestly. Maybe more pleasant than most humans. But around the same. “ You said, glancing at Liam. “Does your brother tell you nothing?” 

“Nah, he's about as tightlipped as a tuna during off season. He thinks if we talk to him too much he'll turn into a sister too.” She said with a manic laugh. 

“No, I'm just busy with my clubs. And I do tell you, I told you almost the same thing as Pyx just did about monsters the first three times you asked.” Liam rebuked. 

“Whatever Li-li.” She said.

“Li-li?” You asked. 

“Don't even. You are on my side remember?” Liam said with a mock glare sent your way. The twitch at the corner of his lip betrayed his true feelings.

This was fun, and you were about to repeat yourself louder when a family rattle of bones caught your ear.

“PYX! ARE YOU LEAVING SO SOON?” Shouted Papyrus as he came up from behind and scooped you into his arms for a hug, comically large tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. “I WILL MISS YOU SO DEARLY FRIEND!” 

“Oh Pap, come here you.” You said, ignoring the hesitation that tried to creep into your hands as you wiped his tears away with your jacket sleeve. 

Who were you kidding when you agreed to stay away from them? You could tear yourself away from Papyrus when he was right in front of you about as well as you could tear your own Soul out and throw it to the ground.

_I am concerned about the affect-_

**Shut up and let me have this please. I am not going to see him or Sans again if I catch him before I leave until you are out of my body. Give me this moment.**

_...Of course..._

“Pap I'm going to see you over the summer I promise. And we have phones and skype and all sorts of things. I'm not going to disappear.” You reassured him as he blubbered into the side of your neck as he swung you side to side. 

“NYOO HOO HOO!” He cried loudly and you sighed softly at him. “I WORRY YOU WILL FORGET ABOUT ME!” 

“Never.” You said with a vicious edge to the word. “Listen to me Papyrus. I will never, ever forget about you, and you will see me soon. I'm not going to be gone for long at all.” 

“promise?” A family voice asked from behind Papyrus.

Craning your neck you smiled a slightly damp smile at Sans. 

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later in the Van, while you are added into the group chat you'll have that same watery smile on your face as you laugh at Lisa's question.
> 
> LisaWisa: Girl how did you get two skellies as your own personal beau patrol?
> 
> Pyx S. : I got lucky.
> 
> LisaWisa: Oh I'm sure you did ;)


	18. Chapter 18

Headphones in and no music playing, you laid on your back on the borrowed bed in your borrowed room and started to dig into the planning. 

The silence was weird, not hearing Liam breathing in his sleep, seeing as his parents had decided to give you a room of your own entirely. 

No, it was just your own heartbeat and the non-sound of Gaster and you going over ideas.

**I really don't have much to add to all of this other than what can be taught to me. I'm not a biological or magical based scientist. I do star matter and gravity and formulas. Not … all this.**

_You have an understanding of general science, and you have been in the Void with me. The rest I will teach you, or will teach you how to get a hold of who can teach you further._

**Who else other than Sans and ourselves are we going to involve?**

You tossed yourself over to your other side, staring at the wall as you waited for him to organize his thoughts. 

_Sans and myself have the most practical knowledge to apply to the magical aspects, and this would not be the first time that a Soul was placed into another form. That is where Alphys comes in, with her mechanical and biological expertise._

**Who is Alphys exactly? I know she is a friend of Sans and Pap and apparently she can help, but who is she?**

_She is the current Royal Scientist of the Monster Kingdom, and a somewhat accomplished scientist in her own right. Despite some...failures in the the past that had more to do with my missing previous experiments than any particular wrongdoing on her part, she has successfully created a bio-mechanical body that sustains even know a Soul that was otherwise incorporeal._

**That's... really impressive sounding. So you are thinking she could create you a body, and then Sans and I will work together to get your Soul bits from me to the body?**

_Not quite how I would have put it, but yes. Alphys will supply us with the form, and Sans will separate us, and then work together with Alphys to attach my Soul 'bits' to the form._

**I can feel you judging me for my choice of words from here. What else do you want me to call them? Shards sounds so.... dramatic. That's what it is isn't it. It sounds uncouth to you to refer to them as bits?**

_In my defense, we are speaking about distinct portions of the very essence of my being. So yes, it feels a bit uncouth to refer to the portions of myself lost currently as 'bits'._

**…. Sorry. I hadn't really thought of it that deeply because every time I do that feeling rushes through my body.**

_Apology accepted. I would rather we just move forward from it and focus on getting the pieces all in one place._

**I've been meaning to ask. How are we going to do that?**

_With your fascinating little machine that measures the weaker threads in the fabric of reality that lead directly into the Void._

You gasped and sat straight up, eyes wide. 

“No way.” You said breathlessly. 

_I believe the saying is 'Yes way'. I was similarly moved when I found in your memories a machine that was capable of finding the exact places where Void based magic had occurred and left behind marks in the fabric of reality. You should be proud, it is a very smartly made piece of equipment._

**I thought it was possibly to do with Black Holes, not the Void....Wait. What if the Black Holes in space are just huge rifts in the fabric that lead straight into the Void? What if the same energy found in dwarf stars when they implode are measurable amounts of massive magic causing a rift?**

Your mind raced and then came to a screeching halt when you realized that you would have to spent the rest of your very short life trying to convince human scientists of your theories when Monsters were still only barely being recognized as citizens with rights, let alone magic being acceptable when sitting at a table of human scientists. 

_It is a very likely theory you have just connected together. Despite the troubles with getting it to be accepted in human circles, I know of many people who would pay you handsomely to pursue those theories. Once I am of my own being again and I can speak to them independently that is._

**Gaster. You don't have to try and bribe me to get you whole again. I was already going to do that as quickly as I could. It's the principle of the thing.**

_Yes yes, justice. The rights and wrongs. I remember._

**So sassy.**

_I preferred snark._

**Noted, Dr. Sassypants.**

**You could almost feel the phantom sigh inside your chest even though your own body only breathed as normal. You laid back down and snuggled down into the downy blankets.**

**So explain to me how this is going to happen, because as soon as tomorrow hits, we are starting up on that.**

_You have confidence, let's hope that keeps. What we will have to do is find the largest spots nearby that will allow us into the Void. Then we will need to use the magic between the two of us to step inside and then let out bursts of magic until like a magnet anything in the Void that isn't nothingness is attracted to us. We may have to do this a number of times, because my own pieces are not the only things out there. We will have to be careful._

**What do you mean not the only things out there?**

**You felt sick thinking of anyone else stuck in that place.**

_Nothing so much similar to me. I am a unique case. I mean beings who are born of the Void, mirror reflections and mimics of the world as it is, twisted by what the Void understands it to be._

**...That answered none of my question.**

_There are creatures that are not actual creatures so much as extensions of the Void itself personified, or monsterified, depending on what we may attract. What we need to watch for the most are the magical auras that will shine from my fragments. That will be the beacon in the dark darker darker yet to guide us._

**Stop being poetic about it. It makes it that much creepier.**

_Apologies... I do suppose I have a flair for words...Unlike some._

**Hey. I resemble that remark.**

_Get sleep child._

**G'night Gaster.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work is kicking my butt but I'm trying to keep up. This is the last of my back up chapters, so there may be a slightly longer wait time than has been happening lately while I build up some more buffer chapters. 
> 
> Weeeeeeeee

The next week found you working on creating a duplicate of your scanner, and texting with a mild mannered if not anxious...dino-monster? You were too polite to try and pry and ask specifics, not knowing if that was socially acceptable. But you were keeping a rolling series of texts to three monsters and one human currently.

~~~

LisaWisa: Come down from your tower and join the rest of us! 

Pyx S.: I will in a bit promise. And for your information Liam and I are out of the tower and walking around outside.

LisaWisa: You better come back soon, it's getting late.

Pyx S: We'll be back soon.

LisaWisa: Just be careful out there. Push Liam into the pond if you can. 

~~~

THE GREAT PAPYRUS: DEAREST PYX, WHEN WILL YOU COME VISIT? SANS AND I AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL WITH BAITED BREATH AND I THINK HE IS BREATHING JUST EVER SO SLIGHTLY HEAVIER THAN I AM.

Pyx S.: I told you I'd message when I found out a time. Its just been busy is all I'mm sorry for not getting time to come sooner.

THE GREAT PAPYRUS: DO NOT APOLOGIZE. JUST KNOW THAT WE MISS YOU.

Pyx S.: I miss you two too. More than I could possibly say.

THE GREAT PAPYRUS: OH I'M GOING TO CRY! 

Pyx S.: No! Don't do that. Only smiles.

~~~

<3TheSansMan<3: heard that ya been chattin it up with alph lately. any leads?

Pyx S.: Nothing of note really. Been working on my scanner in the mean time and thinking about when I can make time to visit you ;)

<3TheSansMan<3: yeh? is that so.

Pyx S.: I can feel your smug from here.

<3TheSansMan<3: me? never, gots no idea what yer even tryin to insinuate.

Pyx S.: You miss meeee. Don't even deny it.

<3TheSansMan<3: whose denyin?

Pyx S.: >///o///<

<3TheSansMan<3: heh

~~~

DinoWithThePlan: I can make the body easily. I have the samples....t-thank you for those by the way...that I can use to grow the bits that need to be more organic. I still don't know how I feel about trying to do this project but Sans and Papyrus trust you so....so do I!

Pyx S.: Thanks Alphys. I hope that all of this will make a lot more since once it's finished. Do you need anything else from me specifically to finish the form?

DinoWithThePlan: No, b-but thank you. The sketch up was actually ver-very articulate and the s-samples you supplied are going to be more than enough to weave bio-mechanical wonders. But what are you going to do with it once I'm done? It's just a shell.

Pyx S.: You'll see, I promise. Just trust me if you can. 

DinoWithThePlan: … I'll try my best.

~~~

You tucked your phone back into your pocket, setting it to silent. It was time to focus.

“How do we know if you will even find these...weak spots?” Liam asked as you trudged around, packs on your backs filled with your equipment.

“Well... I sort of attract them now if that makes sense. I took something out of that place and now carry it with me. The spots are.. they aren't stationary. They move around, appear and disappear...It's more like a floater in your sight than it is an actual spot in the world that is weak. It scoots around. We just have to chase it down before it blips out.” You explain, wiping away at the sweat on your brow. 

You hadn't been out long with Liam, but the sun was setting low in the sky and it was a few humid weeks into summer. Lisa was right, you should probably head back soon, but you had only just came out here not an hour ago and it didn't seem to make much sense to give up already today.

The time spent with Liam and his family had been interesting. His sisters were fun but often out with friends, only really showing back up for family dinner and coffee in the morning. It was not a routine that you were used to, but it was growing on you regardless of the non-familiarity of it. 

It was like you actually belonged in a functional family set up as an added on daughter. You had your chores you did to pitch in, you were learning to cook from Liam's Mom who insisted on being called Ma. 

Shaking yourself out of your own thoughts, you held up your first scanner proto-type, while Liam held onto the second more stable version of the scanner. You knew the ins and outs of the bugs with the first, so it only made sense to keep a hold of it instead of inflicting it upon Liam when he so nicely agreed to help you. 

The silence stretched between the two of you comfortably as you waved your machines side to side, scanning the area and taking down hushed voice notes of everything in the recording portion of the scanners. 

The area you were both wandering were the back woods of the family property, which you had had a hopeful hunch about. Liam was on the other side of a small swampy area when you heard a tell tale beep. 

He let out a soft shout that had you picking up the pace to race next to him. 

The area looked like nothing much to the naked eye, but glancing down at your scanner had you doing a double take. What looked like tendrils waved slowly from a gaping maw of the Void, and you suddenly felt the cold as a tendril reached out towards Liam. 

Instinctively you body checked him to the side and shivered as the tendril caressed you before taking a hold of you around your waist. Looking down you saw nothing, but you didn't really expect to see anything with the naked eye. It was still alarming to feel it and not see it there against your skin.

“Pyx...” Liam said shakily as you gave him a smile made of bravado. 

“It's fine Liam. I'm fi-” You were cut off as the tendril gave a sudden yank.

Falling to your feet the scanner and your pack fell off in the tumble and you were dragged into that dark darker darkest place again.

“PYX!” Liam cried out in a strangled voice.

The feeling was strange. Like being plunged into thick water that was room temperature, or really just on the side of cool that felt too cold in your shorts and tank top. Where sweat had been, was now only a sensation of the sun being eeked from your skin. 

In front of you looked to be someone wearing long sleeves covering their hands, and darkness which was their face. In their hands was something twisting and turning, as if trying to escape it's grasp.

You did not walk so much as will yourself forward, trying not to panic at the sludging sensation glided over you.

“Who are you?” You asked, the words bubbling over your lips and disappearing into the nothingness.

Regardless the being looked at you, as much as one with only the suggestion of a face can do.

Â̵͉l̶͕̈p̴̰̙̾h̷̑̇͜ÿ̷͙̕s̸͘ͅ ̵̲͛͑m̴̩̰͝ḯ̷̹͚g̴͚͐̊͜h̵̟̓ṭ̴̮̄͠ ̶͖̓̈w̷̛͎ȏ̴̪́r̷͍̽̎k̶̜͂ͅ ̶̫̔f̴̛̲̎a̵̼͙͂́s̸̨̄t̸͊̏͜e̸̼͔̋͝r̴̛͎.̴̘͈͗ ̷̮̗̆B̸̫̬̈͝ũ̴̘ţ̴̈́͘ ̷͓͌ẗ̸̠́̀h̸̦̫̚e̵̖̍̇ ̷̣͖́ȍ̴̤l̴͕̯̍̓d̴̢̰͆͗ ̴͈̼̊̅R̷̳͊ö̵̫y̵̺̤̓a̸̭̋l̴̨̛ ̸͕̎S̵̨̛̍c̷̡͍̈́i̷̹͗e̴̗̒͘n̸̢͔͑͠t̴̩͗͝i̷͔ș̸͘t̶͔̓,̸͍̃̌ ̶̙̿D̸̫̗͊õ̸̤̤c̴̭̪͑͝t̵̫̣͊o̸͇͂͘r̸̹̾ ̴̲̈́Ẅ̷̥̙̈.̷̜̫̈D̵̥̘.̷͙̑ ̴̙͖̓G̶̺͛̉a̶͎͇̒s̶̹̙̏ṯ̵̼̕e̸̢̲͊͆ř̶̲̈́?̴̫͆͌

“You know about him? You remember?” You asked, trying not to get your hopes up.

̸̟̕͝O̵̜̜͝n̷͖͂͑͜ḛ̵̭̑̾ ̷̠̐d̸̽ͅȧ̶́ͅy̴̛͖̗,̵͙͌͑ ̴͖͖̃ḩ̵̪̌̃ȩ̴͎́͘ ̵͍̭͐v̵̺̓̕a̸̼̜͋n̶̳̟̋î̴͓̾s̶̬̩̓h̵̩̲̐e̷̢̬̿d̶̢̯̐̓ ̷̲͈́w̷͎̍͂í̷͋͜ț̸̰͂h̶̡̦̓ǫ̴̙̃͠ũ̵̠̗t̷̩̄ ̶͕̆á̵̰ ̸̠͕̓̂t̶͎͋̐ȑ̷̺a̴̠̚c̷̠̏ẻ̸͈̘̕.̶̰͊͆..̵̲͐͒T̸̢̘͘h̴͖̥͆̆ȩ̶̔ỵ̵̿ ̴̱͆s̴̟ã̴͖̙y̴̙̰͐͛ ̴̬̞̈́͐h̸̹͝e̸̜͆ ̶̼̬̾š̵̜h̵̩̿ă̵͉t̵͔̱́t̵͍̐e̸̙͊̓ṟ̴̝͑̈́e̶̝͕̎͐ḑ̶̈̚ ̴̰̂̔a̴̬̓͠c̴̡͠r̴͙̤̈́ò̸̧s̸͚͐͊ŝ̴͉̻ ̴͙̼̽͠ẗ̶͍̈́i̷̙͔̇m̴̨̭̓e̷̢̠͝ ̸̧̖͌͝ä̷̺̘́n̴͕̟̈d̷͓̓͂ ̴̬͂s̵̜̈́̏p̴͉̈́ă̶̟͑c̴̡͉͌̍ẻ̶̢.̷͚̜̌

A shiver ran up your spine and made you pause in your attempts to get closer to the being.

̸̫͌́Ḥ̷̅̉a̴̞̿̈ ̵͇͋H̴͙̔ă̸̱.̵̧̒.̵̠̟̊.̷̜̈́ ̸̯͌̚ḫ̴̬͘ö̸̞͍́͒w̵̠̥̕ ̵̝̕c̵̤̞͛̑ȁ̵̤n̴͌ͅ ̶̡̹̅I̶̮̍ ̶̰̏s̸̺̘̏̔a̷̗͚͊y̸͕̹͗ ̸̪̿̉ș̶͖̋̾o̵͓̾̂ ̴̙w̷͎͠ḯ̷̬̚ṯ̷͌ḧ̶̦́̓o̸̫͔͘ǘ̴͕̭͊t̴̳̾ ̶̬̚f̴͖̿͠e̴̞͊ḁ̵̂ȓ̵̠̪?̷̝͒

“That's not funny.” You murmured, staring down at the things hand and it's prize.

̸̔͜I̷͍͂̎'̴͙̜͒̆m̶͈̠̾ ̸̋͗͜h̵̦̳̊ọ̵͛̀l̴̞̎d̵͕͌̆i̸͈̔ͅn̷̖̊g̶̮̓̄ ̴̜͙̾ạ̵̄̾ ̵̨̣̆͝p̸̳͍̽͊i̵͎͉̔e̴̥̊c̶͇͍͌e̷͕̼͊ ̸̞̊͑o̴̮͒f̵̪̔ ̷͈̱̔̚h̵̫i̴̫̼͌m̴̤̽̽ ̴͙̂r̴̙͊̔i̸̧͑ĝ̸̜̐h̷̰͐t̸͖͍͘ ̵̪h̴̗̪̐ë̸̛̼́r̶̦̄e̸̗͙̅.̵̪̋

A bright flash of green had a scream catch in your throat before your mind kicked into gear, and you lunged forward with more power behind your limbs than was possible except for the slight glow of yellow that surrounded you as you grabbed the shard of Gaster and tucked your body around it in the fetal position. 

The sensation of falling was all the warning you had before sunlight broke upon your skin and the heat of the summer day returned to your bones. Liam laid out next to you sprawled and heaving. 

“What the FUCK was that?” He coughed. 

“That...was the Void.” You said.

“What's that?” He asked softly.

You didn't answer, only sat up and looked at the small shard of the monster in your head that laid in your hands.

“Thank you for getting me out of there. How did you even get in?” You asked after a time, holding the piece close to your chest where it sank in and joined Gaster who was silently going over the recent events.

“I just. I felt something in me tug towards it, towards you and I followed. I don't even know how I did that thing in there that I did.” He admitted, rubbing hands over his face. 

“We should train. Together. I could try to teach you magic.” You offered, getting up and brushing yourself off before offering him a hand up.

“...Sure. Why not. Might as well learn another skill.” Liam muttered darkly.

“You know how to fence and hurt people in how many ways with your pinkie?” You teased as you eyed the spot you had fallen in and out of warily. 

“Nine and that has nothing on what I've seen Papyrus do in some of his videos.” He said.

“Yeah well I said me, not Papyrus. He couldn't hurt a fly regardless so he's actually probably a safer choice but you are stuck with me so.” You said with a laugh.

“I'm doomed.” He deadpanned. 

The scanners packed and with only one backwards glance, the two of you hurried back to what was becoming more and more like home. The chill lingered on your skin, but you shrugged it off as just another effect to study later once all this was finally over. 

You didn't hear the murmur of a voice behind you as you left.


End file.
